Truth and Consequences
by LisaMarie514
Summary: A sequel to Car Trouble. Angel is back from Hell and Cordy is now living with him at the Crawford Street Mansion while her parents are away. In this fic, the Scooby gang finds out that Angel is back, and are not happy about it. (AU, BtVS Season 3)
1. Number 2 Pencils for Everyone

Title: Truth and Consequences  
Author: Lisa Marie  
Email: lisamarie514msn.com  
Rating: PG-13  
Category: Starts of a romance, probably angst by the time it is done. Content: C/A  
Summary: A sequel to Car Trouble. Angel is back from Hell and Cordy is now living with him at the Crawford Street Mansion while her parents are away. In this fic, the Scooby gang finds out that Angel is back, and are not happy about it. Spoilers: BtVS Season 3  
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.  
Distribution: Anyone who wants it  
Feedback: Yes please it makes me type faster.  
  
**Part 1 – Number 2 Pencils for everyone**  
  
The school had finally settled down from the Band Candy incident and well, things were getting back to normal. To make up for the events of chocolate craziness most of the teachers had given pop quizzes and were extra strict about everything. As life often does go on, this sunny fall Saturday morning was when the SAT exam was given to seniors hoping to go to college. Most of the senior class of Sunnydale High had filtered into the Cafeteria, ready to be tested to see if they were fit for college. Many hoped to get scores good enough to get out of small town Sunnydale, others hoped to get out having an increased chance of surviving into their 20's. Sunnydale had a very high mortality rate.  
  
Cordelia sat at a table in the front of the cafeteria next to a random girl who happened to have a last name in the C's. Most of the senior class was present, she turned and looked behind her and saw Xander, a couple tables back, and then Willow and finally Buffy toward the very back of the room. All here to take the entrance exam to life, the Scholastic Aptitude Test – SAT's even Harmony and Aura were there which honestly surprised Cordelia. Her two friends were beautiful but not exactly brainy. _Probably here because I am here_.  
  
It was funny looking around the room, some people had a dozen pencils rubber banded together to make sure they didn't run out of lead. Others had one or two and a great big pink eraser. Cordy glanced back and saw that Xander had what looked to be a blue Bic pen in his hand. Cordy shook her head, stood up, picked up her extra pencil and walked over to Xander's table.  
  
"Here, the pen won't work Xander." Cordelia said, taking the pen out of Xander's hand and replacing it with the pencil.  
  
Xander looked up at her and smiled. This was as close as she had gotten to him in over a week. Something was definitely up with her; it was just a matter of time before he figured it out. _Maybe it was just nerves before this exam...it was not the guy he had seen her riding in her car over a week ago, some older friend of her fathers...with money and good looks and...stop time to think about SAT type stuff, not that Cordy had found someone better_.  
  
"Miss Chase, if you would be kind enough to SIT DOWN, we can start." Principal Snyder said, as he walked into the cafeteria with a stack of exam booklets in his hands, followed by Ms Murphy, who was also going to be proctoring the exam.  
  
"Pfft..." Cordy said under her breath, and then brightly continued "Of course Principal Snyder." She smiled at the little weasel man and then she turned back to Xander, "Good Luck Xan." She heard him mumble under his breath a quiet thank you then headed back to the front of the cafeteria to take her spot for the standardized test.  
  
Ms. Murphy took attendance and checked off on a sheet on her clip board that all those who were supposed to be there were in their correct seats. _Funny, Cordelia thought, lots of names missing from that list as compared to the original list I started kindergarten with...life on the Hellmouth.  
_  
Exam booklets were passed out and each of the Scooby gang was doing their own pre-exam prep ritual.  
  
"The first part of the examination will cover Mathematics and will last 120 minutes..." Principal Snyder said reading from the pre-printed instructions.  
  
Cordy wrote her name in bold script on the line on the booklet, always proud of how her name looked in print. _I wonder if one of the questions will be 'What Southern California town has the most cemeteries per capita?' which of course could only be Sunnyhell.  
_  
"There will then be a 10 minute break and the second part of the exam, related to verbal skills will commence, lasting 110 minutes."  
  
Xander was looking around the room at each of his girls, as he liked to think of them, and stopped at Willow_...she is so going to get a perfect score_.  
  
"Please completely fill only one bubble for each of your answers...." Snyder continued.  
  
Willow had her eyes closed for a brief moment, reciting the rules for iambic pentameter in her head and then moving on to the formula for circumference of a circle..._I wonder how many digits we should carry Pi out to in our calculations...I wonder if Xander even knows that Pi is a number (3.14..) and not something you order at a diner.  
_  
"You may begin your test when I say start, and must put your pencils down when I call finish..." Snyder droned.  
  
Buffy yawned, it had been a long night of patrol and lots of vamps slayed_...I wish Angel could patrol with me...Stop he is gone...never coming back...and I am the one who did that...Stop...had to save the world.  
_  
"If I catch anyone cheating," Snyder looked directly at Buffy, his rodent eyes glaring at her, "I will personally take great pleasure in expelling you from this school." _Oh it would be so great to expel Summers and not have to have her come back like the last time.  
_  
"You may start now." Snyder said, writing the time down on the roll-in whiteboard in big numbers. Next to it he wrote the word 'FINISH' with the time exactly 120 minutes later.  
  
The sounds of exam booklets being opened and pencils starting to work out math problems was heard in the room. Occasionally there was a sigh or humph from a student, struggling to answer a question. The Scooby gang collectively was focused on answer questions and coloring in bubbles correctly.  
  
...108 minutes after the start of the exam Willow closed her exam booklet and put down her pencil. She looked around the room, happy that her last name being towards the back of the alphabet afforded her with a view to see almost everyone, without getting caught by Principal Snyder. Xander's head was down and he was furiously scratching things out on the extra paper provided...coloring in bubbles then carefully erasing. Willow frowned, she had told him not to do that_...Xander remember your first instinct is probably correct_. She looked further up the room at Cordelia and saw that she was still working on her test booklet, but had an air of not being overly stressed. Cordelia epitomized confidence.  
  
...109 minutes after the start of the exam  
  
Buffy closed her test booklet and put down her pencil. _Not so bad, at least I always have slaying as a career choice. I wonder if I will have time at the break for a snack  
_  
...112 minutes after the start of the exam  
  
Cordelia rolled her shoulders and tried to release some of the tension that had built up over a week of getting ready for this exam. _Math is hard, but I am smart...positive thoughts equal good scores...can't wait for the verbal, Cordelia Chase is a master at verbal...I wonder if sarcasm is a section?  
_  
...119 minutes and 45 seconds after the start of the exam  
  
_When in doubt, C is a good choice...or maybe B...well from here I will just alternate._ Xander quickly colored in bubbles on his sheet, having noticed that time was running out and he was not quite done yet.  
  
"Time...put your pencils down." Snyder's voice boomed over the sound of students writing. You could almost hear the pencils hitting the tops of the desks._ Ahhh the sense of power, so good._ "Close your exam books and pass them to the right." All the students did as instructed and exam books moved toward the end of the long tables, where Ms. Murphy walked down and picked them up. Some students had that test takers shell shocked look...and others eyes were just simply glazed over. "You now have 10 minutes for a break. Anyone not back in there seats in exactly 9 minutes and 55 seconds can forget about completing the exam."  
  
Collectively the students stood and stretched. A few walked out of the room, but most stayed put...didn't want a chance of Snyder closing the doors a little early, just for fun.  
  
On the front lawn of Sunnydale High...later that afternoon.  
  
Oz sat on the bench waiting for Willow to come out. He had taken the SAT's last year, and had scored high enough to get into almost any school he wanted too. The only problem was he had failed to show up for gym class most of last year, and Snyder had held him back and not let him graduate. _Oh well, it turned out for the best, as I get to see Willow a whole lot more, and wasn't really ready for the whole college scene...especially while trying to comprehend and control my new werewolf problem.  
_  
The front doors to the High School opened and students started pouring out. Oz smiled when he saw Willow and Buffy walking toward him, followed by Cordelia and Xander.  
  
Willow smiled when she saw Oz and sat down on the bench next to him, letting out a loud sigh.  
  
"What was the exam not challenging enough?" Oz teased Willow.  
  
"Oh it was challenging alright, who cares if two trains are going in opposite directions and when they will get to their destination is one is going 45 miles per hour and the other is going 55 kilometers per 15 minutes." Xander said...expressing his frustration at the test taking experience.  
  
"Yes those distance things are a challenge." Oz agreed with Xander.  
  
"Oh I don't know, at least it wasn't a fight to the death, hey I wonder if a number 2 pencil would kill a vampire?" Buffy asked, glad herself the testing was done.  
  
"Probably, but at least vampires don't need to take exams or go to college." Willow agreed, coming out of her funk as she talked with her friends._ It was nice to talk about normal things like vampires again, rather than SAT's.  
_  
"Oh I don't know some are quite intelligent and would probably enjoy college." Cordelia said, thinking that given the amount that Angel read, he might enjoy taking a college literature class. _Heck, given how old he was, he might have even known some of the classic writers!  
_  
"Cordy, are you serious, vampires, intelligent? Please all they are interested in is how quickly they can get there next meal." Xander said, disliking all things undead.  
  
"No, Xander, Cordy's right, I mean Angel was an avid reader and he really liked art, I am sure he would have enjoyed college." Buffy said a little surprised that she could talk about Angel so easily. _Maybe time does heal all wounds.  
_  
"Deadboy knew how to read...shocking I thought someone that old didn't have to know how to read." Xander said, hating Angel even though he was gone.  
  
"XANDER!" Both Cordelia and Buffy said at the same moment, both coming to Angel's defense.  
  
The two girls looked at each other a little surprised and then Cordelia quickly said, "I mean even though he is dead, it is not nice to call him Deadboy."  
  
"Oh forgive me, maybe I should have referred to him as an avid reader who was also a homicidal maniac?" Xander was just getting warmed up.  
  
"Now that is just not right, how many times did he save all our lives Xander, including yours?" Cordy asked, ready to defend Angel to the hilt, even though everyone surrounding her thought that he was more than dead, but gone from the earth.  
  
"Yah, and how about all of the fun we had last spring with good old Deadboy, it was just a regular old party, hey lets talk to Miss Calendar and see what she thinks...oh no wait she is dead and Angel killed her." Xander argued fiercely.  
  
"Xander that is enough." Willow said, noticing the hurt look on Buffy's face at them talking about Angel in such a negative way.  
  
"What Willow, you're glad he is gone too, he did kill all your fish and threaten you on multiple occasions. I say it was a good thing that Buffy killed the bastard." Xander said, really angry that they were arguing over Angel.  
  
"Just because he is more of a man than you will ever be Xander Harris..." Cordelia started...  
  
"STOP IT ALL OF YOU" Buffy had enough of the talk of Angel, "He is gone, and I killed him, Xander drop it, can't you and Cordy find something else to bicker about." Buffy started crying and ran from the school. She couldn't talk about Angel anymore.  
  
"See what you did Xander, you know Buffy is sensitive about Angel." Willow chastised the boy.  
  
"Will, she needs to get over him, he is gone for good, and maybe it is time that she realizes it." Xander said in a quieter voice.  
  
Oh boy, wait till they find out Angel is back. Cordelia thought.  
  
"I better go apologize to her." Xander said, standing up and starting to run in the direction that Buffy ran. He didn't say goodbye to Cordelia, just left her standing there with Willow and Oz.  
  
Cordy was a little sad that Xander just up and left, to go to Buffy's side and ignore their argument. Granted she was trying to find the right time to call it quits. And also the right time to break the news to the gang that Angel was not dead, or at least not gone.  
  
"Cordy, Xander gets hot headed at times." Willow said, not liking that Cordy looked really sad at the argument with Xander.  
  
"Yeah, that is something he is pretty good at." Cordelia admitted. She wanted to go, go home and relax and not think about big secrets or tests or anything to do with the Scooby gang. "Hey you want to join us, Oz was going to take me out for mochas after the test, you're more than welcome to come." Willow said, sensing that all was not right with Cordelia.  
  
"No, thank you anyway, it has been a long day and I am ready to go home." Cordelia said, still thinking about how she was going to tell them all about Angel.  
  
"Cordy, are you Bronzing it tonight, now that testing is done?" Oz asked, having quietly taken in the whole discussion and knowing that there was a subtext going on that he just had not translated yet.  
  
"Yes, Harmony, Aura and the girls plan on being there around 9 pm. Are you playing?" Cordy asked, remembering that she at promised her old friends that they would go out and party tonight, since the tests were done.  
  
"You bet, our first set starts at 10, so we will see you there?" Oz asked, his band, Dingoes Ate My Baby was not the greatest band in the world but they had a good sound and covered a lot of stuff well.  
  
"Cool, see you there." Cordelia said, adjusting her purse strap and walking away from the witch and the werewolf.


	2. That Skirt is TOO Short

**Part 2 – That Skirt is TOO Short**  
  
Cordelia looked in the mirror, happy with her appearance. She had not done the Bronze scene in forever, or at least it felt like forever. Between taking care of Angel, football games, and getting ready for the SAT's her usual routine was way off balance. It was a little red dress that was a deep dark burgundy color with a scooped neck and short skirt. It was classy and sexy, and great for dancing. That was what was on her agenda for tonight. Drowning her angst in the sounds of loud music and double iced lattes.  
  
She walked down the Mansion stairs and made a grand entrance into the living room. Angel was sitting on the couch reading what looked to be an old book. Pfft_...so much for Xander thinking Angel didn't read._ "Angel, I am meeting Harmony and Aura at the Bronze, are you sure you don't want to go?"  
  
"No not yet ready for that crowd," Angel said, and then looked up from his book, and looked at Cordelia. She was beautiful, sexy, long legged goddess. _She is not going out in that dress, it is too tight, too short, too red_. He could not get his fill of her in that dress, that very very red dress.  
  
"What? Is my lipstick smugged?" She touched the corner of her mouth and realized that her lips were fine, Angel definitely liked the dress she had on. _Maybe I will get him to come out_.  
  
"You aren't wearing that." That dress would lead to boys touching what was his possession.  
  
Cordelia saw the heat in his eyes as he looked her up and down, she definitely was going to be going out in that particular dress. "And what makes you think you can tell me what I can or can not wear?" _This should be interesting.  
_  
"Well that dress, don't you think it is a little provocative?" Angel asked, he decided to go down the reasonable path argument with her.  
  
"No not at all, it shows very little cleavage." She said, smiling because even though there was not a whole lot of skin showed, it did make her chest look lovely if she did say so herself.  
  
"It is too short Cordelia." Angel decided to lay it on the line.  
  
_Hmm he used my full name Angel must really like this dress_. "What? I thought it was actually a little long, you should see the length of some of the dresses Harmony wears." Oh this is fun, Cordelia thought.  
  
"I don't care what Harmony is wearing, I care about what you are wearing." Angel tried to keep his voice calm, but could feel his anger building up.  
  
"Angel this is perfectly respectable, I mean just because you come from the olden days of when a girl was a whore for showing her ankles..." _hit on his age, good one Cor_.  
  
"This has nothing to do with how old I am Cordelia." Angel said.  
  
"Well I am going out, and this is what I am wearing, and that is the end of the discussion Angel. I have had enough arguing today first Xander and now you. You are so not the boss of me." Cordelia let her frustration out about her argument with Xander.  
  
"Does this mean you finally broke it off with Harris?" Angel asked, it had been over a week since she had agreed to break-up with the boy and she had yet to do it.  
  
"No, not yet." Cordelia said, she knew that this would continue to keep Angel in a bad mood.  
  
"You don't plan on breaking up with him do you." Angel said flatly. I_ am going to loose her to Harris.  
_  
"The time just hasn't been right yet, you have seen how much I studied this week for the SAT's and with the whole band candy fiasco, there just hasn't been an opportunity." Cordelia said honestly. _She didn't really want to hurt Xander._  
  
"Well you had time enough to argue with him, was it a lover's spat?" a jealous Angel asked.  
  
"No you dumbass, I was coming to your defense." Cordelia shouted back.  
  
"My defense? They don't even know I am alive, I mean un-dead...back. Why would I need defending?" Angel asked, part of his anger subsiding hearing that she defended him to Xander.  
  
"Xander just made some stupid comments about you, Angel, calling you Deadboy and I just couldn't take it." Cordelia said rather than shouted, Angel bringing the argument to a less heated level had calmed her down a bit.  
  
Over the course of the argument they had moved closer to each other, so that they were standing face to face. Angel wanted to reach out and grab her, shake her by the shoulders and not let her go. Instead he had folded his arms over his chest. Cordy had done the same. They were two warriors who felt that if they let their hands loose someone was going to get hit or crushed. Now that Angel felt a little calmer, he unfolded his arms and moved to gently touch Cordelia's bare arm, just below where the sleeves of the dress stopped.  
  
"Cordy, when are you going to tell him it is over?" Angel asked quietly.  
  
"When are you going to come out of hiding Angel?" Cordy asked, at first understanding why he wasn't ready to face Sunnydale, and now just tired of keeping up with secrets. Lying was just not her style, no matter how much she tried to convince herself that it was acting.  
  
"Soon, I am just not ready to face everyone." Angel said, honestly.  
  
"You mean not ready to face Buffy." Cordelia said, adding the unsaid thought she knew Angel was having.  
  
"Yes, partly, and the rest of them, Angelus was quiet a bastard to them all, especially Giles." Angel said, feeling guilty and sad all together.  
  
"But that was not you Angel, once they know that your back, that you have a soul, they will understand." Cordelia said quietly, moving her hand up to rest on his chest where Angel's heart should have been beating.  
  
"But the demon is there Cordy, always there, just under the surface, taunting me." Angel felt he could tell her the truth if no one else.  
  
"Yes, and you are in control of your demon. Angel you are way too hard on yourself." Cordelia said, moving a fraction of an inch closer to his body, love feeling so close to him. "Come out with me, come to the Bronze, they won't make a scene there in front of everyone." Cordy knew there would be a scene, how big of a scene she couldn't even begin to imagine.  
  
"No, you go have fun with your friends, I would just depress you." Angel said, wanting to get out of facing the Scoobies, or worse, Buffy. He felt like music was the last thing he needed and quiet alone time would be perfect. _But I want to be with Cordelia, so tired of being alone._  
  
"Are you sure, I mean, what if some handsome man carries me away, looking all gorgeous in this dress." She teased him, wanting to get him to smile, wanting to not have him sit home and brood.  
  
"I doubt there will be any real men at the Bronze, and if anyone carried you away, I would just drag you back." Angel realized that the thought of another man touching Cordelia made his blood boil.  
  
"Yes, I believe you would Angel." Cordelia leaned forward and kissed Angel on the cheek. If she did anymore, she knew she would never leave. "I will be back, but it will probably be fairly late."

"So I can't convince you to change out of that dress?" Angel asked one more time, knowing that it was a loosing argument.  
  
"Not a chance Broody." Cordelia gave him one of her 1000 watt smiles. "Gotta go, Harmony will think I was kidnapped."  
  
"Okay..bye." Angel said, feeling a little pathetic.  
  
Cordelia pulled away from his arms and quickly moved to foyer, grabbing her keys and heading out before she decided to jump into Angel's arms and never leave.  
  
Angel watched her go, sad that she was leaving, but knowing that she would be back.


	3. An evening at the Bronze

**Part 3 – An evening at the Bronze**  
  
So just about everyone was out, mostly celebrating the successful completion of the SAT's and that it was a Saturday night. Cordelia had said her hello's to Willow as she sat listening to Oz's band. There was no sign of Xander yet, so she decided she would hang with Harmony and Aura. It was fun to be young and gossip and ogle the cute football players, even though most of them were dumb as sticks.  
  
"Now there is one piece of salty goodness." Harmony said, looking at a football player.  
  
_That phrase is so my phrase,_ Cordelia thought, then let it go, being popular meant that one was emulated. "And he is looking at you Harm." She said encouraging her friend.  
  
People were dancing and having fun, and one of the guys from the team came up to Cordelia. "Hey want to dance Cordy?" Justin asked. _Hopeful that the head cheerleader would say yes, especially since Xander Harris was no where to be seen_.  
  
"Sure Justin, I am dying to dance!" Cordelia said brightly and loudly over the music and let him pull her to the dance floor. _This was turning out to be a great night_.  
  
From a dark corner of the bronze a tall dark figure lurked, watching the events taking place. He felt his demon rise up when he saw the brunette, his girl, being dragged out onto the dance floor by the boy. They are dancing way to close together. Angel thought.  
  
Angel had left the Mansion about a half hour earlier, tired of being alone, missing Cordy, and realizing that she might need protection tonight given the shortness of her skirt.  
  
He had spent the short time he was there watching, he was fine when Cordelia was talking with the girls. He didn't need to kill any boys for looking at her, but the thought was present and pushed to the back of his mind. He had done a scan of the Bronze and noted that there was no sign of Xander or for that matter Buffy. It looked like the only two Scoobies present were Willow and Oz. Good, if he did have to admit his existence he was not ready to have the first conversation be with Buffy.  
  
Angel's eyes moved back to Cordelia and she was dancing very close and very fast with the boy. The music changed to a slower song and the boy tried to pull her closer. Angel growled. Cordelia shook him off and then made the motion for thirsty and going to get a drink. _Good, I won't need to tear his limbs apart.  
_  
Cordelia worked her way through the crowded dance floor towards the bar. She unknowingly got into arms reach of Angel and was pulled into his dark corner and grasp.  
  
"Hey...Buddy let go!" Cordelia said trying to pull away, use to being groped and how to deal with it. It was dark in the corner and she couldn't make out the dark figure.  
  
"Now, I thought you would be glad to see me." Angel said suavely.  
  
"Angel!" Cordelia practically jumped into his arms.  
  
"Glad to see me?" Angel asked, knowing what her answer would be, moving his arms to tighten around her body, pulling her into the darkness of his corner and closer to his chest.  
  
"Yes, I am so proud of you." She beamed.  
  
"I was lonely without you, and got tired of feeling that way. Plus you obviously needed protection tonight." Angel said a little miffed that she was dancing with someone not him.  
  
"Oh Justin, that was no biggie, he is a good dancer, and well I like to dance." Cordelia said, snuggling in closer. Loving the smell of his leather duster, and the smell that was purely man coming from him.  
  
"Do I get a kiss hello as a reward for venturing out to be your protector?" Angel asked, he had many decades of seducing women and decided to put it to use tonight with Cordelia.  
  
"Yes, I say that deserves a kiss." Cordelia said very seriously.  
  
Angel acted quickly and lowered his head and claimed what was his with a kiss.  
  
"Aura who is that kissing Cordy? It so does not look like Xander...he is so much hotter." Harmony said, having noticed Cordelia talking to a stranger a moment ago on the other side of the bar, and then saw them starting to kiss.  
  
"I don't know Harm, but he looks good enough to eat." Aura replied, slightly jealous that Cordelia always got all the good men.  
  
"Hey Willow, what is up?" Buffy asked having just arrived at the Bronze after patrol.  
  
"Not much, glad you came out tonight Buff." Willow said smiling at her best friend.  
  
"Well I decided that brooding at home was no fun, and after Patrol what better place to be then here with my gang. Where is everyone?" Buffy asked, putting on a smile.  
  
"Oz is playing...well obvious, and Xander hasn't shown yet, but he said he would be here. And Cordy was out dancing a moment ago." Willow said, looking over Buffy's shoulder at the dance floor trying to locate Cordelia, when her eyes past over a couple making out in the corner of the dance floor. Buffy turned around and followed Willow's gaze, seeing the couple as well.  
  
"Yuck, don't they know that PDA (public displays of affection) does not mean full deep throat kissing for everyone to have to suffer through." Buffy said turning back to Willow.  
  
"Yeah...oh my god!" Willow said, seeing the light just right on the kissing couple.  
  
"What?!" Buffy asked looking around to see what had shocked Willow.  
  
"That's Cordelia and that is not Xander!" Willow said to Buffy.  
  
"What's not Xander?" Xander asked coming up behind Buffy, having just arrived himself.  
  
Buffy and Willow both looked at each other and decided they would protect Xander from whatever might be happening till they found out more, and silently agreed to wait before saying anything.  
  
"Just 'not Xander' here. You know you're late and I said it was not Xander to be late." Willow babbled.  
  
"Well Will, I have been known to be late." Xander said, sliding onto the stool next to Willow.  
  
"Yes truer words could not be said." Buffy said...she was looking at Willow with a wild, what the hell is going on look on her face, and making sure she blocked Xander's view of Cordelia behind her kissing some random guy.  
  
"Hey have you guys seen Cordy yet, she didn't answer her cell phone earlier, and I wanted to apologize." Xander said, looking around the Bronze, but not behind him.  
  
"Cordelia, uhh, yes, I mean no, yes, no" Willow said continuing to be flustered. She looked over Buffy's shoulder and saw Cordelia and the guy move toward the back of the bar, to the quieter lounge area, where there were couches, and other comfortable places to kiss, she meant talk.  
  
"Well which is it Will, is she here or not?" Xander asked, use to translating Willow gibberish.  
  
"What Willow was trying to say is that Cordy was here, but isn't here now, isn't that right Willow?" Buffy said putting the words into Willow's mouth for her.  
  
"Yes, here and gone." Phew, Willow concluded. "Well that is fine, I have my best two girls here with me and that is all that matters. Can I get you guys anything from the bar?" Xander asked.  
  
"No!" Both Buffy and Willow shouted at once.  
  
"Alrighty then, I am just going to go get myself some caffeine, you too have obviously had way too much!" Xander said, noting both Buffy and Willow were acting a bit tense. It must be the after-effects of test taking.  
  
"No, I mean, we were just going to go up, my treat this time." Buffy said quickly, wanting to talk to Willow and see if she could confirm what they saw Cordelia doing and with whom.  
  
"Yes, good idea Buffy. Xander save our table, Oz will be right over once this set is done. Come on Buffy...lets get beverages." Willow said, jumping down from her stool and grabbing Buffy by the hand towards the bar.  
  
"Great...thanks" Xander said as he watched the girls head toward the bar.  
  
Willow nearly knocked over her stool when getting up in a rush to talk to Buffy without Xander present. Xander grabbed the stool before it fell to the floor, "Easy Willow, don't take out the place."  
  
Willow laughed nervously and grabbed Buffy's hand, "Come on." The two girls practically raced over to the bar and out of Xander's earshot.  
  
"So Will, was that Cordelia making out in the dark corner?" Buffy asked. Looking around the bar and not seeing the cheerleader anywhere.  
  
"Yes, I think so, but I couldn't tell who she was with." Willow said, sad for Xander.  
  
"I can't believe she is cheating on Xander, I mean how could she sink so low?" Buffy said, thinking about how she could get away with slaying Cordelia for hurting Xander.  
  
"Well, maybe it wasn't her, or maybe it was some kind of fluke, maybe a clothes fluke." Willow said, thinking back to several heated kisses she had shared with Xander over the past 3 weeks. Guilt was getting harder and harder to deny.  
  
"Hey there is Harmony and Aura, I am going to go see if they know anything about this mystery guy." Buffy said, wanting to take action any kind of action. She walked over to the corner of the bar that Harmony was leaning against.  
  
"Hey Harmony." Buffy started casually.  
  
"Hi Biffy, what is up?" Harmony asked, wondering why this freak, as Cordelia had called her multiple times, was bugging her.  
  
"It's Buffy." The blonde really grated on Buffy's nerves.  
  
"Pfft..." A less than perfect imitation of Cordy.  
  
"I am looking for Cordelia; do you know where she is or who she is with?" Buffy cut to the punch line, not wanting to spend a lot of time Harmony, so she could focus her energy on hurting Cordelia if she was hurting Xander.  
  
"Why what is your deal?" Harmony was just a little curious as to why Buffy wanted Cordelia, and was sure that Cordy would not want her spilling any of the juicy details about kissing that tall dark college boy.  
  
"Well she is Xander's girlfriend, and he is here, and we thought we saw her kissing some guy in the corner earlier." Buffy spilled more details than she anticipated spilling.  
  
"I don't think so Biffy..." Harmony started...  
  
"BUFFY!" Buffy practically growled at the girl.  
  
"Whatever, anyway, she was here and danced a bit with Justin and then she left." Harmony failed to add the part about her leaving with the tall dark salty goodness college boy...who kinda looked like the guy Buffy dated last spring. _Wonder if Cordy decided to take what she wanted and take Buffy's boyfriend. Go Cordy!  
_  
"Oh, so just dancing..." Buffy knew Justin and knew that kissing him was the last thing Cordy would do...he was a great dancer but just not kissable.  
  
"Yah, so why don't you go back to your little wacko click and do whatever it is you do." Harmony tried to pull of a Cordelia and did not even come close.  
  
"Argh.." Buffy sighed and walked away from Harmony, well that was helpful. She moved back over to Willow who had 4 beverages in front of her.  
  
"Hey I ordered some sodas, did you find out anything from Harmony?" Willow asked, not sure what she hoped the outcome to be, but knowing instinctively that Xander was going to be hurt.  
  
"Just that Cordelia danced with Justin and then left. You didn't notice her dancing did you?" Buffy took a soda off the bar and took a large drink. She didn't realize how thirsty she was after her patrol, and the cold soda tasted good.  
  
"Yes, I thought I saw her a few times out on the dance floor and come to think of it, she was dancing with Justin. Eew, you don't think she was making out with Justin?" Willow asked, _Justin was a nice kid and a great football player, but can you say dumb as a stick.  
_  
"Hmmm...I wonder...well I don't think we should say anything until to Xander until we confront Cordelia. If she is cheating on him, I am going to kill or at least maim her. Lets get back to Xander before he thinks we have totally abandoned him." Buffy said, picking up two of the glasses from the bar, while Willow took the other two.  
  
_...meanwhile in the ally behind the Bronze  
_  
Cordelia had her arms around Angel's neck and they were making out, like teenagers, except for the fact that one of them wasn't a teenager, wasn't even human. Angel's kisses were addictive, once she had one, she just couldn't seem to stop.  
  
Angel pressed her body against his and the wall of the ally. Feeling her body soft and willing against his, his lips drinking up her taste. Kissing Cordelia made him want to own her completely, to never release her from his site. He didn't think that he ever remembered wanting Buffy this much. Cordy was pure intoxication to him. He wanted to stay drunk like this forever.  
  
"Well lookie what we have here...snacks!" Said a college age looking boy who was now a vampire coming across the two lovers in the ally, to his 3 other friends.  
  
The second one, already in vamp face, looked over Cordelia, "Mmmm I love the taste of a cheerleader, especially one that is so horny."  
  
Angel turned around at the voices of the young vampires who had come up behind him, and moved so that Cordelia was behind him, protected.  
  
"I don't think so boys." Angel said quietly. He didn't vamp out, but he knew he exuded power, and experience, something these fledgling vamps obviously did not have.  
  
"Oh yah, and what are you going to do about it." The third vampire, a tall dark kid, who looked fairly strong piped in.  
  
"You don't know who I am," Angel then laughed, this might be fun.  
  
"Nope, and don't care, you are between me and a Happy Meal." The first vampire stated, hoping that bravado with scare away the protective boyfriend. His instincts must be wrong, but the guy almost smelled like a Vampire, but there was something different.  
  
"I don't think you boys are going to be doing any snacking tonight, why don't you run along before I decide not to let you go and just kill you." Angel said, surveying the ally and noting that there were several broken pallets with an ample supply of stakes to be used.  
  
All three of the vampires started laughing, the third one stopped laughing – "And who do you think you are, how are you going to stop the three of us?"  
  
This should be fun. "Because...I'm Angel" Angel took a dive at the first vampire and knocked him out. Time to get rid of these guys quick, Angel thought, they were interrupting some interesting happenings with Cordelia.  
  
The fight went on for a little bit, as Angel was not up to full health yet, but he dusted one of the three vamps fairly quickly. As punches were thrown and violence ensued, Cordelia stayed out of the way. Then she saw an opportunity that she just couldn't pass up. The taller dark vampire moved past her and Cordy stuck out her leg and tripped him. He went flying into the broken pallets, not prepared that the girl would fight back, and he landed so that one of the pieces of wood stuck straight through his heart. Puff. _What a great sound_, Cordy thought.  
  
Angel was punching the last surviving Vampire and seemed to be enjoying himself. This one he was not going to kill, he needed to get the message out that he was back and that no one was to touch his property.  
  
"Not so tough now are we boy." Angel said to the beaten vampire he was holding by the shirt collar.  
  
"No...who are you?" the vamp asked, hoping he would get out of this without a stake through the heart.  
  
Angel vamped out at this point to prove a point, "I am Angel and you see that girl over there, who so easily dusted your buddy?" Angel turning the vampire so he could see Cordelia who was standing against the wall, catching her breath.  
  
The vampire nodded, sensing that at this point saying anything might be a life ending decision.  
  
"Good, she is mine, my property, you make sure you tell all your little friends that I am back, and she is not to be touched." Angel looked down at the other vampire, and waited for an answer.  
  
"Yes your property, I will get word out that she is not to be touched." The vampire said humbly, hoping that he was safe to hunt another day.  
  
"Good." Angel said, and then punched him one last time, knocking him out cold. He dropped the vampire like trash and then looked over to Cordelia, still fully vamped out.  
  
"You okay?" Cordy asked, concerned that the fight had taken a lot out of Angel, moving away from the wall to stand next to him. She reached up at touched the bruise on his bumpy forehead.  
  
"Fine, you aren't hurt?" Angel said, taking inventory of her, heartbeat a little faster than normal, and he didn't smell any blood, so he knew she hadn't been scratched.  
  
"No I am fine. Thank you." Cordelia said, and then did the only thing she could think of...she kissed him...while he was fully vamped out.  
  
Angel kissed her back hard, trying to be careful not to cut her with his fangs, she was kissing him in his true demon form, and it drove him wild. He pulled away from the kiss and shook off the demon face and then pulled her into the tightest embrace he could do without breaking her bones.  
  
"Anytime Sweetheart, anytime." Angel said and leaned down and kissed her thoroughly. 


	4. Conversations in a Dark Alley

**Part 4 – Conversations in a Dark Alley**  
  
_Property...what does he mean property._ "Property...what do you mean I am your property Angel?" Cordelia asked, pulling away from the intoxicating kiss that Angel worked against her lips.  
  
Angel decided to ignore her question and move his lips to a spot just under her left ear, licking it and sucking gently....pushing his demon back and just enjoying the feel of her pulse under his tongue.  
  
"mmmm...ahhh...Angel....Angel, stop that, answer me." Cordelia demanded, not really sure if she wanted him to stop or not, her heart beating faster and her skin all tingly.  
  
Angel lifted his face away from Cordy's neck and looked at her eyes, seeing them hazy with passion and a surge of male pride ran through him. "What?" Angel looking very innocent puppy doggish, making her ask again.  
  
"You called me property, Angel. Now I know you are old and everything, but it is almost the new millennium. I am a woman, and not property." Cordelia said. _Cordelia Chase is not property.  
_  
Angel decided that how he answered her would determine whether or not he would be sleeping with her tonight. Even though he knew he couldn't consummate what he felt for her...raw, basic need... _God damned curse.  
_  
Angel lifted his hand up from its spot on her elbow and pushed aside as wayward strand of hair. "I was sending a message, one that will keep you safe when you are not next to me Cordelia." I am not going to discuss that I think of her as my property, she is not ready to know yet.  
  
"Oh, well then, I guess that is okay," Cordy turned her cheek into his hand, having a hard time resisting his quiet tone of protection. "But Angel, why do I have a feeling that there is more to this property thing than you are letting on."  
  
"You took care of me when I was weak, I will protect you with my life Cordy." Angel said, fully of meaning and a future. The pad of his thumb stroking her cheek, feeling the warmth of her body.  
  
"And I will continue to take care of you, but remember; I am a big girl and have done pretty good in taking care of myself for a longtime before you became my protector." Cordelia said bravely, but part of her really likes the thought of Angel protecting her.  
  
In the midst of their discussion, neither Cordy nor Angel saw the vampire that Angel had knocked out start to get up from ground. He looked at the Vampire who called himself Angel and the girl he claimed as his property. He didn't see a bite mark on the girl's neck. She is not property yet, and boy would it be yummy to piss off this particularly infamous vampire. Drew, that was the vampire's human name, took in a deep breath and memorized the scent of the girl. Mmmm just pretty enough that maybe I will turn her and have a permanent playmate. He quietly got up and ran from the alley. He knew that he would find her again, and soon.  
  
Cordy looked up into Angel's eyes, seeing his old soul reflecting there, _I think I am falling in love with him.  
_  
"So you should be pretty happy, I went out in public tonight." Angel said, wanting to move off the property topic and onto staying on Cordelia's good side.  
  
"Yes, you did a great job of lurking in the darkest corner of the Bronze, ensuring that no one saw you." Cordelia mocked.  
  
"Well you wandered right into my arms so I didn't have to cross the dance floor." Angel lied, he had watched from the corner, hoping not to be seen, and that if the chances were right Cordelia would wander over to him.  
  
"You know we are going to need to tell everyone soon that you are back." Cordelia said, still in the protective grasp of Angel's arms.  
  
"You know you need to break it off with Harris." Angel responded back, choosing not to directly answer her question. He wanted to claim her as his, and she needed to be free from Xander to do that. Angel moved slightly and felt his ribs pull a little, and grunted slightly, he didn't think they were broken, but he had taken a few too many punches tonight than he was ready to handle.  
  
"What, what is wrong Angel?" Cordelia looked at him, seeing the pain roll across his face. Moving her hand to touch his ribs and inadvertently poked him in a sore spot.  
  
"Owww" Angel exclaimed before he could stop himself. Slightly embarrassed now to show that he was in pain, after being all Champion.  
  
"Your hurt, you got yourself hurt!" Cordelia practically shouted poking him looking for other signs of damage.  
  
"Hey...stop poking....I am just not up to 3 vamps at once." Angel said, clasping her hands, to stop the poking.  
  
"I need to get you home and get your shirt off." Cordelia said quickly, trying to pull her hands away from Angel's to check him for more injuries.  
  
Angel interrupted. "Well let's go now, if you really want my shirt off that bad." Angel smiled coyly.  
  
"No dumbass...I meant so I can see the extent of your injuries, the light in this alley is lousy." Cordelia huffed.  
  
"So you don't want to see me without my shirt?" Angel queried, raising his eyebrow slightly.  
  
"Yes...I mean no...I mean...ohhh" Cordelia stuttered and then pushed away from his chest.  
  
Angel moved his arm to clasp his ribs, it hurt to laugh, and he thought if she caught him laughing he would have broken ribs rather than just bruised ones. "I'm sorry, Cor, you just bring out the seductionist in me."  
  
Cordy turned back and looked at him, she could tell he was in pain, but that he was also in a good mood, so that explains the teasing. "Lets go home Angel" She reached out and took his hand and pulled him toward the parking lot away from the dark alley.  
  
"Well, well, looks like Peaches has found a new chit to hold his leash. Who would have thought he'd be lucky enough to get the cheerleader." Stepping out of the darker shadows of the alley, Spike appeared under the light near the back door of the Bronze. He took a pull on his bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey, and shook his head, "bloody fool for love."  
  
_Meanwhile in the Bronze_  
  
"Well Xander, maybe you and Cordelia are just not meant to be, it did seem a little freakish that you two got together." Buffy said, trying to console a sad Xander, because Cordy was missing from the post SAT celebration and also plant the seed that if Cordy was kissing another boy he would be better off without her.  
  
"Well it is just odd; she has been missing in action for the past two weeks. She never hangs out with us in the Library anymore; it is as if she is really mad about the whole being bait thing." Xander responded. He looked from Buffy to Willow, his eyes resting on Willow. Willow responded to his silent plea and moved her hand to rest on top of his hand.  
  
"Well maybe she just needs to know that she is part of the gang, you know, invite her back, maybe have her help research something." Willow suggested, and then an idea came to her, "I have it Xander, why don't we go on a double date, you and Cordy, me and Oz, we could bowl, yes bowling."  
  
"Double Date?" Buffy said, looking a little sad that she was obviously excluded from the event because she was missing a boyfriend. _I wonder if Angel knew how to bowl?  
_  
"Oh I am sorry Buffy, it was just, well you are of course invited, so want you to come," Willow said quickly, realizing that the thought of a double date automatically seemed to exclude her.  
  
"No big, Will," Buffy lied, sometimes being surrounded by couples was less than fun.  
  
"Yah, Buff, bowling would be totally fun with you there too." Xander added weakly, trying to make up for Willow's goof.  
  
There was a moment of awkward silence among the three friends. No one sure what quiet to say, and all three a little depressed. Breaking the silence was the arrival of Faith, the other Vampire Slayer, who had shown up in town. She confidently walked over to the table, wearing tight leather pants and a black tank top. "Hey B, Scoobies." She said patting Buffy on the back.  
  
"Hi Faith, so how are things?" Xander asked, checking out the hot dark haired slayer.  
  
"Good Xan Man, her looking for my girl, wanted to see if she was up for some slayage." Faith said, putting her arm around Buffy's shoulders, like a comrade in arms.  
  
"Actually, yes, patrolling sounds great." Buffy said relieved to have an out from the dating conversation.  
  
"Well then lets motor B" Faith said, already pulling Buffy out of the Bronze.  
  
"Looks like Buff has a new playmate." Xander said watching the two slayers walk out of the Bronze.  
  
"Well it is better than having her mope about Angel." Willow said, gently squeezing Xander's hand. 


	5. Glove of Mynhegon or was that Calgon?

**Part 5 – Glove of Myhnegon or was that Calgon?**  
  
_Two weeks after the SAT exams.  
_  
Cordelia sat at the table of the library looking as awed as the rest of the group at the appearance of a new watcher, Mrs. Gwendolyn Post, straight from England to watch Faith. It was not very amusing watching her take Giles down several notches about the quality of books in his library. Plus she was droning on worse than Giles ever did about some glove called Calgon...take me away please.  
  
"So what is the big with this glove anyway?" Cordelia asked, wondering why no one had asked earlier.  
  
"It is quite powerful and in the wrong hands. Mr. Giles is it really necessary to have all these children present, this is really council business." Mrs. Post addressed to her fellow watcher, annoyed with all the people present.  
  
"They stay." Buffy said firmly.  
  
"Yeah." Faith added, crossing her arms in a similar fashion to how Buffy had crossed her arms.  
  
"Very well then...." Ms. Post started, Cordelia ignored her, it sounded like the beginnings of another all night research session. One that Cordelia had decided that she truly did not want to partake. She had to finish reading Wuthering Heights for her AP English class and wanted to get a head start on her essay on the book. She had not gotten very far, and figured a whole night of researching some glove would be a bad idea for her GPA.  
  
"Okay then, well since no bait is required, I am going to bail on the whole research thing." Cordelia said, standing up, wanting to not have to suffer through more of the Scooby meeting. She had not broken up with Xander yet, and Angel had decided firmly that he was not revealing his presence until she did so.  
  
The past two weeks had been comfortable for her, living at the Crawford Street Mansion with Angel. They had entered into an easy routine, which was really nice. Angel had only gone all broody on her twice, both due to arguments relating to exposing both of their secrets. Eventually, Angel stopped sulking, probably because when he was at his worst, Cordy simply sat in his lap and hugged him tightly. It always led to kissing. His kisses drove her crazy, and she had never slept so well in her entire life, walking up in his arms in the morning. She was frustrated that things had not gone beyond kissing and groping, but part of her was glad that it couldn't because she just wasn't sure she was ready yet. She was also afraid to tell him that his no-groiny curse was potentially lifted when Willow restored his soul. _If he found out would he run back to Buffy?  
_  
Cordelia said her goodbyes and then left the High School, she wanted to go home and see her vampire.  
  
_At the Mansion_  
  
"Honey, I am home" Cordelia called out in a sing-song voice, like something out of a 1950's TV show.  
  
"Out here" Angel shouted from the court yard, which was nicely shaded and on the eastern side of the mansion.  
  
Cordelia walked outside and licked her lips when she found a very sweaty Angel wearing loose fitting sweatpants that hugged low on his hips. "Hello salty goodness." Cordy said under her breath.  
  
Angel stretched and flexed his muscles, knowing he was looking quite impressive, and feeling much stronger than he had, even before getting sent to hell by Buffy. "Hello yourself" Angel said, looking Cordelia up and down, "How was your day?" He asked.  
  
_He always asks me how my day was, he cares,_ Cordy thought. "Oh you know the usual, pop quiz in History, and thanks to you I am sure I did well, all that tutoring about ancient history," she teased him, she was taking 18th century European history and it was wonderful to hear the stories of what really happened. Even the eviler ones when Angel was Angelus, he told her such good bedtime stories.  
  
"Well I am glad to hear that, I figured you weren't listening, too busy sleeping through." Angel teased her, he walked over to the spot she had stopped in and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"Eww...your all sweaty Angel, I didn't know Vampires sweated, seems to go against the whole lack of body heat thing." Cordy said she still hadn't gotten him to spill all the idiosyncrasies there were to being a vampire.  
  
"I like my sweaty arms wrapped around you, I like having you covered in my scent." Angel said in a very vampirish way.  
  
"Again...Ewww" Cordy started to say, when Angel lowered his lips and captured hers in a tender, welcome home kiss.  
  
"So is that it?" He probed, loving hearing about every second of her day, waiting to hear her say the words the magic words – that she and Xander were finished. Even though he new she hadn't touched him in weeks, he could tell, he still needed her to break it off with him.  
  
"No, not it, the council sent a new Watcher for Faith, Gwendolyn Post."  
  
"Hmm, interesting." I wonder why they did that?  
  
"Yes and she is all blah blah blah...strict training...better books in the library, basically a more uptight and English than even Giles is, hell she called him an American." Cordy said.  
  
"More English than Giles?" Angel chuckled, it was hard to think of anyone more English than Giles.  
  
"Yes, without a doubt. In any event there is another big bad ready to crash onto the Sunnydale scene, some type of glove, mygone, calgon, something like that."  
  
"You mean the Glove of Myhnegon?" Angel asked, now fully engaged in their conversation.  
  
"Yes that is it that is what Mrs. Post called it. You have heard of it?" Cordy inquired.  
  
"It grants the wearer great powers, and the ability to call forth armies to do the wearer's bidding. Not a pretty sight. I think I had heard rumors that a collector here in Sunnydale had taken possession of it in the late 1930's, and had it buried with him." Angel talked as he moved away from Cordelia to pick up the towel on the bench and wrap it around his neck.  
  
"How do you know all this stuff Angel?" Cordy was amazed at how much trivia he held in his brain about old stuff, and how very little he knew about modern pop culture.  
  
"I have been around saw it used briefly when I was in Italy. Lets just say it was not a pretty sight."  
  
"Well if you know where it is, then we should go get it and bring it back for Giles to destroy or do whatever." Cordelia said firmly resting her hands on her hips.  
  
"No, you are staying here, I will go and check out the cemetery and see if the glove is where I think it might be hidden. I don't want to have to worry about you getting hurt." Angel said firmly back to the cheerleader.  
  
"Pfft...a little cemetery run, I have been doing those since I was a sophomore, I can handle myself, I am going. Period." Cordelia said, staring down the vampire. _She was not going to be relegated to doing nothing now that Angel was all protective guy.  
_  
Angel wanted to continue the argument, but decided that it was most-likely a loosing battle. Plus how dangerous is the cemetery?  
  
_...later that night at the Restfield Cemetery_  
  
"Angel...wait up...your legs are longer than mine!" Cordelia shouted, trying to keep up with the fast moving vampire.  
  
"Cordy...shhhh...do you want every creature of the night to know we are here, stop being bait girl and hurry up." Angel said in a loud whisper, and slowing down his pace. He looked back and enjoyed the view of Cordelia. It was fun to have her around.  
  
Cordy caught up with Angel, "You really think it is here?" She asked in a normal voice, not even close to a whisper.  
  
"I don't know...but it is worth checking. Here, the Hanson crypt lets go in and see if we can find it." Angel said, pushing open the door to the musty crypt. A poof of dust and dead smells rolled out of the crypt.  
  
"Ugh...no way, I go in there and I am sure to get all dirty, plus it smells bad." Cordelia didn't mind the cemetery runs, but hated the tours of local crypts. Her luck would have it that some dead guy, not completely decomposed would be laying out for her to see. No Thank You.  
  
"Alright, stay close to the door, if you hear anything, or see anything non- human scream okay. Actually, why don't you hum...that way I will know you are okay." Angel requested. He didn't like digging around a stinky crypt anymore than she did, but this was important.  
  
"Hum??" Cordelia looked at him puzzled.  
  
"Yes, if you stop humming, then I will know that something got you and covered your mouth preventing a scream." Duh, Angel thought.  
  
"Oh, that is a good idea. What should I hum?" Cordy could tell that this conversation was starting to annoy Angel, and well it was fun.  
  
"Anything Cordelia, and it doesn't need to be loud, vampire hearing remember." Maybe he should drag her in with him or they could just bicker all night.  
  
"Well I only know new stuff, I don't think I could hum anything by Beethoven or something that you would be familiar with." Dig on his age, that gets him riled every time.  
  
"Cordelia, you can hum Happy Birthday for all I care. Now do you want to stand out here all night deciding what to hum, or are you going to come with me?" Angel was annoyed.  
  
Cordelia instantly started humming Happy Birthday and smiled at her vampire.  
  
Angel shook his head and entered the crypt.  
  
_....over the ridge  
_  
Xander entered the Restfield Cemetery and took stock of his surroundings...creepy, very very creepy. If only he had not felt guilty about almost getting caught by Giles in the library while kissing Willow again he would not be out here looking for this glove thinger all by himself. He took a look around the cemetery, wishing that tombs were alphabetical, cause it was going to take all night for him to locate the Hanson tomb.  
  
_What was it about kissing Willow, with no one else around, that made it exciting, dangerous? He just couldn't help himself. Plus Cordy had not kissed him in over a week. Were things done?  
_  
"Hey that tune sounds familiar." Xander said outloud, hearing the strains of a song being hummed in the night breeze. Xander slowly started moving toward the noise and found himself looking at Cordelia.  
  
She was standing outside of a crypt, the Hanson crypt no less, with her hands clasped behind her back, humming.  
  
What is Cordelia doing in the middle of the cemetery humming? Xander thought, and was about to move and confront her when a man came out of the crypt, the way Cordy was standing his view was blocked. He saw the man put a hand on her shoulder, and in the other was holding a wrapped bundle.  
  
"EEEEKKKK!!!" Cordelia shouted, feeling Angel's hand on her shoulder, surprising her at his sudden appearance.  
  
"Cordy...shh" Angel said, looking briefly around the cemetery, checking to see if anything popped up.  
  
"Angel, I am so getting you a bell!" Cordy shouted, upset that he had scarred her again.  
  
"You just need to listen more carefully. I got it." Angel said proudly.  
  
"Good job, lets get out of here and go home." Cordelia said, then stood on tip-toe and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"Sounds good sweetheart." Angel said putting his free arm around her shoulder and began their trek out of the cemetery.  
  
"Sonofabitch!" Xander swore under his breath at the scene he just witnessed. So that is why Cordelia has been so distant, she has hooked up with Angelus. "I better go find Giles." Xander said leaving the cemetery to find the watcher. 


	6. The Intervention

**Part 6 – The Intervention  
**  
"Xander, stop dragging me, I am coming." Cordelia said, as Xander pulled her into the library. She didn't know what was so urgent he had to pull her out of History class, but this caveman attitude was not going to get him very far in her book. But it is okay if a certain vampire slings me over his shoulder like a caveman, Cordelia's mind answered back.  
  
Sitting at the main table were Willow and Oz, and standing to the left of them, looking very disappointed was Giles. Buffy was no where to be seen. Cordelia took in the look on their faces. They know.  
  
Xander moved over to the table and stood next to Willow. He folded his arms over his chest and left Cordy standing in front of them, facing the jury.  
  
"Care to share with us what your adventure in the cemetery last night was all about, Cordelia." Xander said coldly, since they had started dating he rarely called her by her full name.  
  
Cordelia looked around at the Scoobies, she was not going to lie to them, and didn't like this confrontation routine that was taking place. "Following up on a lead regarding the Glove of Calgon" Not the entire truth, but not a lie.  
  
"Mynhegon, Cordelia." Giles corrected her automatically. The girl was in very deep and he wasn't sure how she had gotten there, but knew he needed to help her get out. Giles took his glasses off his face and absently rubbed the bridge of his nose.  
  
"So when did you become Angelus' lackey Cordelia?" Xander blurted out. He was so mad that steam could have been coming out of his ears.  
  
"I am nobody's Lackey Xander Harris." Cordelia shouted yet, she had a feeling the insults were just starting.  
  
"Cordelia, Xander saw you with Angel last night at the cemetery." Willow broke in, this was not supposed to be a shouting session. "Xander we agreed there would be no name calling." Willow chastised Xander.  
  
"Angelus, Willow." Xander said pacing behind the table. "Sit down Cordelia."  
  
Cordelia decided to sit, it was time they heard what was going on. The only thing that she was glad about was that the Slayer was not here. She didn't think she could stomach the thought of Buffy hearing that Angel was back and taking off toward the mansion.  
  
"No Xander, Willow is right, it is Angel and not Angelus." Cordelia said quietly. She looked around at the group and felt their disappointment in her on their faces.  
  
"Yeah right, sure, you wouldn't be kissing Angel, it has to be Angelus, and he has you under this thrall. I can't believe you are under this thrall Cordelia, why else would you help a cold blooded killer like Deadboy." Xander said heatedly.  
  
"I am not under Angel's thrall, Xander. And I was just excited that we had found the Glove you all wanted so badly." Cordelia responded, at least she didn't think that she was under it.  
  
"So that is why you took him back to the Mansion and stayed with him?" Xander asked coldly.  
  
"Are you spying on me Xander?" Cordelia asked, a bit off topic, but irked that he was following her.  
  
"I guess I was just worried that you were under the control of an evil killer, and thought that you might need protection. Didn't realize you were going to be having a slumber party." Xander shouted back, having followed them back to the Mansion last night before going to Giles, and seen them both enter the house, and then noticing that Cordy's car was still there this morning when he went past on his way to school.  
  
"We weren't having a slumber party; I have been taking care of him, and he is not evil honest to god." Cordelia had a feeling that this was going to be a long discussion, and they were going to get it all out of her, she was not going to tell them that she was sharing a bed with the vampire, she was pretty sure Xander would stake Angel first and ask questions later.  
  
"Cordelia, how long have you been caring for Angel, when did he return?" Giles asked, wondering how long the girl had been protecting the vampire.  
  
"Since the end of September. I hit him with my car." Cordelia said, it was odd that it was now almost Thanksgiving, and she had been with Angel for that many weeks.  
  
"And you didn't think it was important to tell us Cordelia? Angelus is dangerous at best and an insane killer the rest of the time. That he hasn't killed you or turned you is that he has bigger plans for you." Giles stated, he was now in agreement with Xander, that perhaps Cordelia was under Angelus' thrall.  
  
"Jeez, how many times do I have to tell you it is Angel, and not Angelus, he has his soul Giles." Cordelia stood up and put her hand on her hips.  
  
"Pfft...He is conning you Cordelia" Xander disgusted.  
  
"Xander it could be Angel, I think that my spell worked, and you remember what Buffy said about the last few minutes before she stabbed Angel and sent him ito the vortex." Willow interjected.  
  
Oz was watching the ping-pong discussion, taking it all in and wondering if his friends were going to recover from this little revelation. He decided that he was not going to interject any words are just yet.  
  
"Look, I don't know how he came back but he was weak and crazed with hunger, but he didn't attack me when I first found him. I took him back to the mansion, fed him and then took care of him until he was less insane, and realized he was no longer in the Hell dimension that Buffy sent him too." Cordelia said quickly, she did not need to defend her actions, she had done the right thing.  
  
"So you let him feed off of you Cordelia, I can't believe you sunk that low." Xander was so mad that he had little control over the words coming out of his mouth.  
  
"Yuck...no...gross...I went to the blood bank and got him blood to feed on." Duh, this is getting tiresome. "Look Angel is just not ready to deal with all you guys, and now that I have seen your reaction to him being back, I can so see why." Cordelia said looking around, ready to be done with this conversation.  
  
"What do you mean Angel is not ready to deal, Cordelia?" Buffy said having walked into the library in time to hear the reference to Angel but not much else of the conversation. She took in the scene before her and saw sadness on Willow's face, disgust on Xander's face and Giles look of concern.  
  
Cordelia spun around and saw Buffy standing there, looking confused.  
  
"Looks like Angelus is back in town, Buff, and our dear sweet Cordelia has been harboring the bastard." Xander said, he could not believe that Cordelia had been lying to him, all of them for the past 6 weeks.  
  
"What?!" Buffy said shocked.  
  
"Damn it Xander he is not Angelus it is Angel!" Cordelia was so tired of him calling Angel by that monster's name.  
  
"Angel? Where? When?" Buffy said, looking at Cordelia for answers.  
  
"End of September, came back from Hell, weak and hurt, I nursed him back to sanity, and he just hasn't been ready to deal with everyone yet." Cordy said for what seemed to be the thousandth time.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us? Me?" Buffy said dumbfounded, Angel is back.  
  
"He wasn't ready yet to face all of you, and based on the reception I just received, I guess he was right."  
  
"Where is he now Cordelia?" Buffy asked, her words stilted, still in shock over the words that Angel was back.  
  
"Look when he is ready to see you, he will come to you." Cordy said, not sure she wanted the Slayer running over to the Mansion at that very moment in her current state.  
  
"Where?" Buffy said through gritted teeth.  
  
Cordy thought for a moment and then decided that it was inevitably going to happen, and even if it was not on Angel's terms he was certainly strong enough now to deal with it. They had been keeping secrets too long in her opinion. "The Mansion, on Crawford Street."  
  
Buffy turned and ran from the library. She had to get to Angel.  
  
The group watched the Slayer run from the library; they all knew that she was headed for the Crawford Street Mansion. They also knew that none of them could stop her.  
  
"Why Cordelia, why are you protecting a killer?" Xander asked, having a hard time understanding what she had done or why.  
  
"Because he has a soul, and he needed my help. He needed me, unlike you guys." Cordelia said, proudly.  
  
"Cordy what makes you think we don't need you?" Willow asked, a little taken aback by her words.  
  
"Well let me correct that statement Willow, you guys don't need me unless you need someone to act as bait. Not once has Angel asked me to be bait." Cordelia said sharply.  
  
"Cordy, we don't see you as bait, really, your just good at attracting vampires." Willow said, trying to say the right thing, but knowing that she was just digging her hole deeper.  
  
"Again, I say he has you in his thrall, I am sure of it." Xander argued back.  
  
"Children, enough!" Giles interrupted seeing that the argument was going no where. "Now Cordelia, you said that you and Angel located the Glove of Mynhegon."  
  
"Yes, Angel had a hunch it was in some dead collector's tomb at the Restview Cemetery. We recovered it last night, he has it stored in a trunk at the Mansion." Cordelia said, turning to Giles, grateful to no longer be discussing why she had helped Angel.  
  
"Good, I believe we have found a spell to destroy the glove, living flame, but I don't have all the supplies. Xander, Willow, Oz, if I give you the list of supplies will you go to the magic shop?" It was more of an order than a request. He thought the best thing in the world would be if he separated the teenagers, especially Xander and Cordelia.  
  
"And what is Cordelia's assignment, to go back and baby-sit Deadboy?" Xander still disgusted at what he had just heard.  
  
"No Xander, she needs to go back to class, and she will finish out the school day and then go home." Giles ordered, he thought that distance was important.  
  
"Fine, thank you Giles" Cordelia said, taking that as the cue to her exit to go back to her last class of the day. Then she was going back to her parents' house, who knows how long Buffy would be at the Mansion and she was sure Angel would want to brood alone for a while. Plus she wanted to swim in her pool, and relieve the stress of the day. Cordelia left the library and felt better once she was in the hallway, and away from her angry friends.  
  
_...at the Crawford Street Mansion_  
  
Angel turned the page of the book – Wuthering Heights, Cordelia had left it on the coffee table and was having a difficult time getting though the sad pages of the book. He had read it before, and for some reason the depressing text no longer interested him. He had a light force in his life now that made him want to celebrate; Cordelia had saved him in more ways than one. The only thing that he wished was that he could give her a real life, one in the sunshine, but that was not possible. With the curse he couldn't even have her body in the intimate why he wanted too, which lately was becoming harder and harder not to do.  
  
The front door slammed open, Angel looked up to see who it was, as Cordelia was a bit more graceful when she entered their home. He was surprised to see that it wasn't Cordy at all, but instead the petite blonde Slayer. He stood, holding the book in front of him, not quite sure how to react to her presence.  
  
"Buffy?" Angel started to walk toward her and the door, but was blocked by a stream of afternoon sunlight that followed her through the open door.  
  
"Angel, is that really you?" Buffy's eyes welling up, not believing that she was actually seeing him again, standing there, real, not just a figure of her imagination.  
  
Angel simply nodded. The last time he had seen the slayer was when she had kissed him and then pushed a sword through his gut and sent him to hell. He had mixed feelings seeing her for the first time.  
  
Buffy ran from the door and through herself into Angel's arms, crying, "Your back, your back."  
  
Angel put his arms around her awkwardly, taken aback by her falling so quickly into his arms..."Buffy" was all he could say as he stroked the back of her head as she sobbed in his arms.  
  
_...later at the Bronze_  
  
Xander was playing pool by himself, taking out his anger on the cue ball and all the balls that were in his way. How could Cordy hide something like that from all of them? Why would she protect Deadboy, wasn't she part of the club that hates Angelus too.  
  
"You know, if you smash all the balls, you won't be able to play again." Faith said, coming up to Xander at the pool table, feeling the anger roll off the boy in waves.  
  
"Well if you had heard the news I had heard today you would understand why." Xander said, not looking up and taking another shot.  
  
"Well dish, has the Largos' demon shown up yet, and I missed a fight?" Faith asked, moving around the pool table watching Xander take his anger out.  
  
"No, worse, Buffy's ex is back in town." Xander said, looking up at the darker slayer.  
  
"Angel?" Faith said, shocked thinking the vampire was dead.  
  
"Yep, back here in lovely Sunnydale." Xander said  
  
"Well lets find B, she probably will want to join me in staking the bastard." Faith said, ready to go.  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, last time I saw her she had the look in her eyes of a love sick puppy, she is probably cuddling with him right now." Xander told her.  
  
"But he is a killer; he killed Ms Calendar, and so many other innocent people." Faith said, disgusted that Buffy would go back to him.  
  
"You're preaching to the choir, sister." Xander looked at Faith, realizing that she was coming up with a plan.  
  
"Well even if big sis B doesn't know her job, I do, and that is slaying vampires. Up to kill something?" Faith said looking at Xander smiling.  
  
"Well, I know where Giles keeps the key to the weapons locker in the library." Xander said smiling back at Faith. This was the first sensible thing he had heard all day long.  
  
"Lets go Xan Man." Faith said hooking her arm around Xander's and leading him from the Bronze.  
  
_...back at the Mansion_  
  
Angel pulled away from Buffy, noting that her sobs had subsided somewhat. He pulled her toward the couch and pushed her gently down and then sat on the other side looking at her. "So" Angel said needing to break the silence.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you were back Angel." Buffy asked, lifting her tear streaked face to the vampire.  
  
"I just got back; I was really disorientated, not at full strength yet." Angel said, not wanting to tell her the truth that he really didn't want to see her.  
  
"Cordelia has been caring for you?" Buffy asked, not believing the words coming out of her mouth.  
  
"She found me the first night." Angel said.  
  
"And she took care of you?" Buffy asked, wondering if something more had developed, in the back of her head remembering the event at the Bronze the other night where Willow thought she saw Cordy kissing some man. Was that some man Angel?  
  
"Yes." Angel felt like he was at a loss for words when he talked with Buffy. It was so much easier talking with Cordy; she made him want to talk.  
  
"So are you feeling better?" Buffy wasn't sure what to ask him, she was still in shock he was back. It felt like they were not boyfriend girlfriend anymore. So much had happened when he was Angelus, and then gone for the summer. How they would get back to where they were was beyond Buffy's comprehension right now.  
  
"Yes, getting stronger everyday." Angel said, standing up and moving in front of the fire place. He was not ready for this conversation or lack of one with the slayer. He wanted Cordy to be here by his side now.  
  
"Well that is good, a good thing." Buffy said awkwardly.  
  
"We found the Glove of Mynhegon." Angel said, tired of small talk.  
  
"Really, how?" Buffy said brightly it was nice the conversation so easily moved to business and away from a serious discussion about their relationship or what was left of it.  
  
"Cordy mentioned that you guys were looking for it, and I remembered that at one point there was a collector who collected this type of object. I had a hunch as to where it was located and we got lucky." Angel said, looking at the slayer sitting on his couch.  
  
"You and Cordelia found it?" Buffy said not believing what she was hearing. Cordelia was only accomplished at being bait, not at solving mysteries.  
  
"Yes we did." He did not like the tone in her voice. "We need to get the ingredients for making living flame that is the one thing that will destroy it. I have the spell, but not everything that is required." Angel said.  
  
"Maybe Giles does, I could go back to the library and get him, and then we can perform the spell, and destroy the glove Angel." Buffy said standing, she too was tired of talking, and not knowing what to say, this was easier.  
  
"That is a good idea." Angel said, relieved that she was leaving, and hopeful Cordelia would be home before Buffy and Giles returned. It was going to be a long night. 


	7. Revelations while Destroying the Glove

**Part 7 – Revelations while Destroying the Glove**  
  
_.... In the library_  
  
Buffy rushed in after seeing the ambulance in front of the school. "Giles!" She shouted rushing up to him as the EMT adjusted the IV attached to the librarian's arm.  
  
"Stand back Miss if you want him to live, we have to get him to the hospital." The EMT said, starting to pull the stretcher toward the entrance to the library.  
  
"Wait," Giles said weakly, turning to Buffy, "use living flame." Giles uttered and then passed out. The EMTs then rushed Giles from the library.  
  
"Xander what happened?" Buffy said, turning around looking at Xander.  
  
"Faith and I came here for weapons and we found Giles in his office unconscious." Xander said, with a guilty look on his face.  
  
"And why were you guys getting weapons?" Buffy did not like the sound of this at all.  
  
"We were going to go take out Angelus, before he killed you or anyone else, and then we found Giles, and Faith took off." Xander said, knowing that Faith was on her way to the Mansion.  
  
"How much of a head start does she have Xander?" Buffy asked, knowing where Faith was going.  
  
"Buff, maybe it is for the best." Xander tried to reason with her.  
  
"How Much?" Buffy demanded this time.  
  
"10 minutes." Xander disclosed, Buffy was already out the door before he even finished his sentence.  
  
...at the Mansion...  
  
"Who are you?" Angel asked the woman who had barged into his house. What was with the whole barging in thing that was going to today?  
  
"Gwen Post, Mister Giles sent me, you have the Glove of Mynhegon?" Faith's watcher asked, looking the young man up and down.  
  
Angel looked at her, surprised that Giles did not come himself. Maybe he couldn't face him after Angelus having killed Jenny Calendar. "It is over here, let me get it. I was just about to conjure living flame to destroy the glove."  
  
Angel turned his back and walked over to the chest by the fire place and removed the ancient glove. He turned back around to feel a shovel smashed into his jaw, knocking him down. The glove clanked to the floor as Angel crashed into the couch, dazed.  
  
Ms. Post picked up the Glove carefully and looked at it awe, walking over to where the cauldron of blue flame was burning and using her free hand she knocked it over, extinguishing the living flame.  
  
"You know, I really don't like it when people hit me with shovels" Angel said, standing up in full vamp face, moving to grab the glove away from Post.  
  
Ms Post snaps the shovel on her knee, creating a large stake, "Well that should have killed you, had you been human, but you obviously aren't. But I am fairly sure that this will work." Ms. Post said, throwing the shovel half aside and holding up the stake.  
  
Angel lunged into the woman, knocking her into the wall causing her to drop the glove and the make-shift stake. Bending down to take the glove away, the door slammed open, again, and Faith ran over to Angel, knocking him hard and away from her watcher. The two started fighting, Faith ready to kill Angel for being what he was, a vampire. The two battled, with Faith starting to win, Angel not at his strongest and she a slayer. Faith was just about to plunge a stake into his heart when her hand was grabbed by Buffy.  
  
"Faith Stop!" Buffy shouted pulling Faith away from Angel, punching her to get her to stop.  
  
"You want a piece of me B, come-on lets go at it." Faith taunted and the two slayers started battling each other.  
  
On the other side of the room Ms. Post had taken the Glove of Mynhegon and placed it on her right hand. The prongs on the glove sunk deep into her forearm, making the glove a permanent addition to her wardrobe. Huge crashes of lightening came through the skylight of the living room, powering the glove and the woman who wore it. Ms Post laughed evilly and then started firing lightening shocks at the battling Slayers. "Faith you stupid stupid girl." The power of the glove knocking both the girls into the court yard.  
  
Willow burst into the mansion at that moment, shouting, "I have the potion for living flam.." She didn't get the word flame out as she saw the mayhem going on around her then Ms Post turn her fully charged gloved hand at her. In the moment before the energy burst left Ms. Post's hand Angel tackled Willow to the ground, saving her from a shocking death.  
  
At seeing Ms. Post go all power hungry the two slayers stopped battling each other. Xander shouted, "Buff –here" and tossed her a battle ax that was hanging on the wall next to him.  
  
Buffy grabbed the ax out of the air and spun around and through it at Ms. Post, taking her gloved arm off in the process. Once the glove was detached from Ms. Post's body, she burst into mystical blue and green flames and disintegrated before their eyes. All that was left was the smoke and the glove attached to the arm, no longer attached to her body.  
  
Angel got up off of Willow and looked down, "Sorry." He said a little sheepishly having knocked the girl to the ground so violently.  
  
"No, it is all good, anytime that a lightening bolt is coming at me you can knock me to the ground Angel. Thank you." Willow said, knowing without a doubt, by the look in his eyes that he was Angel, with a soul and not evil.  
  
"No problem Willow." Angel said, the red head was a good kid and he genuinely liked her, he reached down and helped her stand.  
  
Buffy turned to Faith, "Well it looks like Giles is your watcher again."  
  
"Yep B, looks like." Faith looked around at the destruction in the mansion and smiled. It was a good fight, and while she hadn't killed anything, it was good to be watcher free, as Giles was not exactly one to control her. "Now, excuse me, I have a vampire to stake." She said, pushing past Buffy to get to Angel.  
  
Willow moved in front of the vampire and spread her arms out wide, protecting Angel. "No, you can't Faith, Angel has his soul. I restored it, he is not evil, and you can't kill him." Willow said with force that few in the room were use to coming from the girl.  
  
Angel looked down at the petite red-head in front of him and gained an increasing level of respect for the girl. She came to his defense almost as quickly as Cordelia would have, had she been there.  
  
"But Willow he is a killer." Faith said moving forward ready to move the girl out of her way.  
  
"Angelus was a killer, Angel is not, he just saved my life, and if he was evil he would not have expended the energy." Willow argued keeping her arms up, making sure her head was in front of his chest, protecting his heart.  
  
Xander moved forward and put a restraining hand on Faith's shoulder, "Faith, Willow is right." Xander could not believe he was say what he was saying.  
  
"Whatever...you better watch yourself Vampire, one sign that you are evil and I will take great joy in turning you to dust and then turning on the dust buster." Faith said.  
  
"And I will be right with you Faith, watching Deadboy." Xander concurred. He looked to Willow and waited for her to lower her arms. She held her ground, waiting for the slayer to leave.  
  
"I am outta here." Faith said, walking out of the mansion, knocking over random things as she left as if to make a point to make sure everyone knew she left pissed.  
  
Willow relaxed and looked at Xander, "You did the right thing Xander, we can't kill Angel."  
  
"Well I am sure it won't be long before he slips up and I will have the excuse I need to let Faith stake him." Xander said pissed.  
  
"Let's destroy the glove and then get to the Hospital and check on Giles." Buffy interrupted the argument. She was surprised she herself had not jumped to Angel's defense as quickly as Willow had, maybe she still didn't trust him after so many months of him being evil. Maybe it was because he had not seemed glad to see her when she had arrived at the mansion the first time that evening.  
  
"Sounds good." Willow said. She moved away from Angel and started to set up to perform the ritual.  
  
_...after the destruction of the Glove_  
  
Everyone had left and the Mansion was quiet, trashed but quiet. Cordy is not going to appreciate the mess in here at all. Angel thought. He looked at the hallway clock and saw that it was close to 11 pm. Where the hell was she, Cordelia should be home by now. Angel thought for a moment and realized that if Buffy found him and they all knew about his existence, the Scoobies must have gotten it out of Cordelia. I wonder if she is afraid that I am mad at her, no Cordelia is not one to be afraid.  
  
Angel thought for a moment and then figured, if Cordy wasn't home, nor here through all the action, she must be at her parent's house. Time to go get Cordelia and bring her home, she belonged with him. Angel went to the foyer closet and pulled out his long black leather jacket. He then pulled open the drawer to the table in the foyer and pulled out keys to his beloved 1968 Plymouth Convertible. _Now that was a classic car, and a chick magnet_.  
  
Angel went out to the garages and pulled open the middle door. The Plymouth was where he left it and he pulled the protective drop cloth off the car. He smiled to himself, even as evil as Angelus was, he knew how to take care of a beauty like this car.  
  
He hopped in and inserted the key, turning the ignition over and hearing the subtle roar of the powerful engine. He unclamped the roof and then hit the button for the top to go down. This was his favorite way to drive, top down, wind of the night flowing over his body. Off to the Chase residence to collect Cordelia.  
  
Spike stepped out of the darkness and watched Angel drive away in the Plymouth. He took a drag on his lit cigarette and then took a deep drink from the alcohol bottle in his other hand. "Wonder where Peaches was off to in such a rush...probably his cheerleader. God Damn It, why does he always get the girl and I don't get crap, not even his scraps." Spike, not falling down drunk, but close, took another drink and emptied the bottle. "Need to get me another bottle." Spike said to no one and then wandered away from the mansion back toward town.  
  
_...across town at Cordelia's house  
_  
Cordelia swam for what must have been the thousandth lap of the night. She had gotten to her parents house and talked to Rosario, the Chase family house keeper. She had had a good vacation and was glad to be back. Rosario also relayed the message to Cordelia that her parents had phoned and have decided to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday in the Islands and won't be home. Cordelia wasn't surprised. She hadn't spent a holiday with her parents in ages, unless it involved a party to support her father's business. It had been strange, but it almost seemed as though her parents had made a point of being out of the country quite a bit for the last few months. Oh well, she was fine on her own, had been fine on her own for quite some time.  
  
Cordelia did a flip in the water and floated on her back, staring up at the stars and the chilly night. She listened to the quiet strains of jazz playing on the poolside stereo. She was happy that even though her parents were not there they had been nice enough to get her a heated pool. Her thought floated over to the discussion of the day in the library and being confronted by everyone. She held back a tear when she thought of Buffy going to Angel. They were star crossed lovers, surely by now they were embraced in kisses, and all was right with them, especially since the curse had been lifted.  
  
_Those kisses belong to me._ Cordelia thought wistfully.  
  
Angel walked down the back path to the pool having seen the lights from the road, and knowing for some reason that Cordelia would be swimming. He had luckily remembered the pass code to the gate from the other evening so that he hadn't had to alert her to his presence. He came up to the pool and saw Cordelia floating in the pool on her back, this time wearing a little, very little, bikini, it was hard to tell from that distance what color it was, but he could see a great deal of her flesh. He didn't want to disturb her swim; she looked so comfortable floating in the pool, like a mermaid with her hair floating around her.  
  
Angel quietly and quickly pulled off his jacket and shirt, and then pulled off his shoes and pants. He decided that he would keep his black silk boxer's on in deference to Cordelia's modesty, as he did not have swim trunks here. With stealthy vampire speed he quietly got into the water, and swam across the bottom of the pool until he came up just underneath Cordelia's relaxed body.  
  
He let himself float up to the top and rested his head on her bare stomach.  
  
"EEEKKK" Cordelia tried to jump out from the thing next to her shocked at something touching her in her pool that was supposed to be empty of all things but here. Then she looked down and saw the dark hair and the chocolate brown eyes of Angel and splashed water at him.  
  
"Angel, remind me to get a bell for you." Cordelia chastised him. Angel dunked under the water and came up and slicked his hair back, he was smiling at her, glad to see her.  
  
"You should be more careful, what if I was an intruder?" Angel teased, floating around her in the pool. Taking in her beauty, glad that she was happy to see him.  
  
"Well, I thought I could trust the security system to this place, how did you get in anyway?" Cordy asked, Angel had a mischievous look on his face and if she didn't know better, he was trying to figure out a way to dunk her.  
  
"I remembered the code from the other night. Aren't you going to kiss me hello?" Angel asked innocently, swimming a little closer to Cordy, hearing her heart beat faster.  
  
"I wasn't sure," Cordelia started, how was she going to say it...wasn't sure he wanted her now that Buffy knew he was back.  
  
"Well then, let me make you sure, Miss Chase." Angel said and reached through the water pulling her into his arms and a deep kiss. A kiss that said I missed you a lot and need you all in one action. Cordy moved her arms around to rest on his shoulders and loved the feeling of him kissing her in the night with the steam rising up around them from the cool air hitting the pool water. It seemed so magically. Just like every time he kissed her. Angel finished the kiss and pulled away from her, "Better?" he asked.  
  
"Yes." Cordelia smiled, yes she felt secure being held by him, she always wanted to feel this way. "Did Buffy find you?" Cordelia asked needing to know.  
  
"Yes actually everyone did." Angel said, moving a hand down to rub her back under the water, teasing the strings holding her top in place.  
  
"What do you mean everyone Angel?" Cordy asked, just a little curious as to what the events of the day had brought.  
  
"Would you like the short version or the long version?" Angel asked, if she wanted lots of words he was prepared to give them, but hoped she would go to the short version.  
  
"Short."  
  
"Faith tried to kill me, then she attacked Buffy. Gwen Post was evil and after the Glove of Mynhegon, now she is dead, Willow protected me against Faith and Xander and then we destroyed the glove." Angel said, summing up the evening.  
  
Cordy thought for a moment, and then asked the one question that she really wanted to know the answer too more than anything, "And you and Buffy?"  
  
"We talked; it was strange, awkward really." He didn't know how to put into words what it was like talking with Buffy, and didn't really want to dwell on it, it was not a pleasant experience.  
  
"So you guys are getting back together then." Cordelia blurted out, her worse fears vocalized.  
  
Angel looked into her hazel eyes and realized they were wet with tears and confusion. Did she think he would dump her just because Buffy showed up on his doorstep, after everything they had been through? He smiled slightly and moved his head forward and captured her lips in a deep passion filled kiss. He pulled her warm body close to his and held her tightly. He wanted her to know how important she was to him. Angel pulled away slightly and looked at Cordy as she opened her eyes, filled with passion and wanting.  
  
"So are you getting back together?" Cordy teased, not sure what to say after that kiss.  
  
"After that kind of kiss you have the gall to ask me if I am getting back together with another woman." Angel was shocked, she could not be serious.  
  
A big smile spread across Cordelia's lips and she looked at Angel's soul filled chocolate eyes. She moved her hand up and caressed his cheek. "I guess you aren't, are you Big Guy." Cordelia leaned in and gave his kiss back to him, amazed at how much love she put into it.  
  
Angel couldn't help laughing as he kissed her, Cordelia had brought more joy to his long life in six short weeks than he had ever experienced.  
  
"Angel, if I am in here any longer, I am going to turn into a prune. Take me home." Cordelia said.  
  
"Your wish is my command Cordy." Angel had not heard better words than those all day long. 


	8. Love Potion Number 9

**Part 8 – Love Potion Number 9**  
  
_Two weeks after destroying the Glove of Mynhegon_  
  
Spike walked around the burned out factory. In one hand he held a half empty bottle of cheap whiskey and in the other he held a lit cigarette. He was alternating puffing on the smoke and sipping from the bottle. Spike slammed his bottle down on the table and then shouted his pain, "Why did she leave me, how could Dru fall for that slimy demon!"  
  
"Maybe because you are a drunk?" Drew, the young fledgling vampire who had attacked Cordelia the other day at the Bronze said entering the factory.  
  
"So what's it to you poof?" Spike asked, looking at the other vampire, squinting his eyes because he was so drunk that he thought there were two of them there.  
  
"Well rumor on the streets is that you were a big bad at one point, but now looking at you," Drew looked him up and down, almost disgusted at Spike's state, "I would say that those were lies. Course now that Angelus is back in town, maybe I should see if he is looking for some help."  
  
Spike flew across the room at the young vampire, and even in his drunken haze was able to push the vampire against the wall holding his neck with his forearm. "What do you mean Angelus is back?"  
  
"He nearly killed me the other night, when I tried to feed on his new pet." Drew said, struggling in Spike grasp, kind of surprised that the other vampire in his drunken state was so strong.  
  
"Pet, what pet?" Spike asked, knowing that the Slayer would never be mistaken for a pet.  
  
"A leggy brunette who looked ripe for the taking, I wanted to turn her." Drew said, still squirming under Spike's hold.  
  
Spike thought a moment and realized that it must be Cordelia. Maybe it was Angelus; given that Angel was the Slayer's lapdog, he would definitely go after the hot and well endowed brunette. "If you were a smart boy, I wouldn't play with Angelus' toys." Spike said shoving the other vampire away. He picked his whiskey bottle up off the table and took a swig.  
  
"Well she wasn't marked yet, so I figure she is available to the first vampire who gets to her." Drew said dusting off his clothes, looking around at the burned out factory wondering why he ever thought this would be a good place to hang during the daylight hours.  
  
"Don't be stupid, if you have been warned, and don't want to be turned to dust, I would stay clear of Angelus and his new pet." Spike said, wondering if Angelus was still as crazy as he had been a few months back.  
  
"He wouldn't kill one of his own kind would he?" Drew asked.  
  
Spike was pacing and thinking through an alcohol induced haze, "If Angelus is back, that means that Dru will come back to be with her Sire, and then I can get her back."  
  
"Hey, I am into girls, okay man." Drew said taking a step back, thinking that white haired vampire was talking about him. Maybe he had enough time before daylight to find a better place to hang his hat.  
  
"What, no not you, you Poof, I was taking about Drusilla." Spike said looking over the younger vampire, a tall skinny boy who was turned at the prime of geekdom. No, not my type at all, thought Spike.  
  
"Oh, good, well, I am just going to get going. It is almost the witching hour, well I guess you wouldn't call sunrise the witching hour, but anyway." Drew said, starting to back out of the factory.  
  
Spike was muttering again about getting Dru back, and was ignoring the young vampire as he backed out of the factory. "Now how would I get Dru back, and skip the whole Angelus bonding part, and have her come straight to me." Spike paced and drank. Then the young vampires words hit him...witching hour.  
  
"Hold on a second, Poof," Spike said, cutting off Drew before he got to the door, "You are bloody brilliant, I will get a witch and have a love spell cast." Spike placed both his hands on Drew's shoulders and leaned in and kissed the other vampire on the cheek in a quick comradely sort of way. "Brilliant!"  
  
Drew was completely in shock, and wondering what the crazy vampire was going to do next.  
  
"Well, now I just need to get me a witch, and you are going to help me get Angelus here to bait the trap for Dru." Spike said.  
  
"What are you talking about, why do you want to trap me?" Drew asked, looking perplexed at the drunken vampire.  
  
"I don't want to trap you, hell, what is your name?" Spike said, again shoving away from the other vampire.  
  
"Drew, and how am I supposed to get Angelus here, and why am I going to help you?" Drew asked, wondering if it made sense to put his lot in with this particular crazy vampire.  
  
"Oh Bloody Hell, this is going to get confusing between my Dru and your name Drew. Well, Drew, the reason your going to help me is that I will stake you right here and now just for fun if you don't. Plus, I will let you have the Cheerleader once we get Drusilla back to me."  
  
"Ah, now we are talking, how are you going to get a witch?" Drew asked.  
  
"Oh that is easy, just go down to the Magic shop and pick one up." Spike said, laughing and taking another swig from the bottle. He was going to get his Drusilla back.  
  
...late the following afternoon at Sunnydale's Magic Shop  
  
"Hello Willow, how are you this fine afternoon?" The middle-aged Wicca shop keeper asked Willow as she looked up from the table of crystals and other odds and ends that she was dusting.  
  
"Pretty good Sandy, I need a few supplies for a spell I want to perform, dove feathers, sage, and dragon's blood powder." Willow said, earlier that day she had reached a conclusion regarding her relationship with Xander...it had to end.  
  
"Willow, it sounds like you want to do a love spell, is there someone you desire?" Sandy the shopkeeper inquired, loving the thought of young love. She heard the back door to the shop open an casually shouted over her shoulder, "Be right with you." She didn't look back to notice the white haired vampire entering her shop.  
  
"No, not love, actually more of an anti-love spell, a de-lusting spell is what I need." Willow was sure that this was the only way she could fight her attraction to Xander Harris, especially since she had Oz and he had Cordelia.  
  
"Ah then, you want canary feathers and not dove's feathers, unless you really want to have him detest you, then you would want to use a crow feather." Sandy said, a little matter-of-factly, as if discussing the recipe for chicken soup.  
  
"No, don't want him to detest me, just want to not lust so much." Willow said, realizing she never wanted to loose Xander's friendship that she had had since the first day of kindergarten.  
  
Sandy quickly moved around the shop, picking up the supplies Willow needed and then took them to the counter and rang them up on the old-fashioned register. "That will be $18.20. And good luck with your spell."  
  
"Thanks Sandy, I appreciate the help, blessed be." Willow said, taking her purchases and heading out the door of the shop.  
  
Sandy turned around to check on her other customer who had wandered in earlier. She walked to the back of the shop and saw the young man standing there, glaring at her. She could smell the alcohol on him, ohh dear, "May I help you?" She asked.  
  
"Mmm, needed some help getting things for a spell, but I think that I have found a better option." Spike said, and then looked at the shopkeeper and licked his lips.  
  
"Oh, well then if there isn't anything that I can do...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Sandy started to say, when she saw Spike vamp out and then lunge at her.  
  
Spike moved quickly and sunk his fangs into her neck, taking a deep drink, draining her quickly. He pulled his head away, and with blood dripping from his lips, "I think I found me the perfect witch in Little Red," he pushed his mouth back to the shopkeeper and finished her off, completely draining her of her life force and blood. Spike licked his lips, and then dropped the woman. Now to follow the little witch, and get her to perform my spell for me.  
  
_...even later that evening at the High School Chemistry Lab_  
  
"So Willow, why are we meeting here?" Xander asked, coming into the chemistry lab of the High School where Willow was currently working, mixing some random items in a beaker, and getting ready to light the Bunsen burner. "And why does it smell like church in here? Evil church."  
  
"Well, I had to finish some chemistry lab homework, and I figured the high school was central for everyone, so that we could all go bowling together, afterwards." Willow said a little nervously, referring to the double date she, Xander, Cordelia and Oz were going on tonight.  
  
Xander wandered around the work table and looked at the assorted ingredients of the "homework" project and then started putting two and two together. "Hey, this isn't homework!" Xander said picking up the spell book Willow had opened. "You're casting a spell, a love spell!" Finally recognizing the ingredients from when he and Amy had cast the botched love spell last year.  
  
"No not love, de-love, de-lusting, for us, you know so we stop, you know." Willow stuttered.  
  
"No Willow, love spells are dangerous, and you are not doing one." Xander said firmly, not going down this road again, Magic Bad was his new motto.  
  
"But...EEEEKK" Willow started, but then was shocked to see Spike standing at the entrance to the lab, looking evil as usual.  
  
"Now there your wrong boy, because she definitely is going to do another spell, one to get me and Dru back together." Spike said, moving into the chemistry lab, moving to grab Willow.  
  
Xander lunged at Spike, when he realized he was going after Willow and got in a couple good punches that didn't seem to do much to the vampire, other than annoy him. Spike shoved the boy away, and then picked up a heavy microscope off the back lab table and smashed it against Xander's head, knocking him out cold. He then turned to Willow his long black coat swishing as he moved.  
  
"Now look here Red, you and me," Spike grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him emphasizing his strength, "and the putz, are going back to the factory, and you are going to get working on a love spell to bring Dru back."  
  
Willow looked down at Xander's unconscious form and was grateful to see that he was breathing. She didn't say anything, not sure how to measure the behavior of this vampire.  
  
"Get your books, and I will get the boy. Quick now, I want to get this started soon." Spike said, bending down and tossing Xander over his shoulder, ready to make his way back to the factory.  
  
_...across town at the Mansion_  
  
"Look, I am calling it quits with Xander, after we are done bowling with Willow and Oz." Cordy said to Angel, smoothing over a wrinkle in her light blue sweater. She had decided to go for the casual, high-school date outfit of a sweater and jeans. Cordy was a little sad that it was going to be over with Xander, but hadn't it been over for a while, she thought.  
  
"'Bout time." Angel said, not looking up from the dusty old book he was reading, he and Cordy had barely been talking the past week, as she had not called it quits with Harris.  
  
"I told you, I just needed to find the right time. Plus with everyone being so distant with you, I thought it would be better not to spring the whole "us" thing on them right away." Cordy walked over to the couch and stood before Angel. God Angel could make her crazy, she thought. He had his book open and was reading, or at least pretending to read, and ignoring her presence.  
  
"Pfft," Angel said, not looking up from his book. He was mad at Cordelia, and also insanely jealous. The sooner she figured out that he was not going to put up with her still clinging to Harris the better.  
  
He Pfft me, I can't believe it, this is it, Cordy thought, and then pulled the book out of Angel's hands, "Don't Pfft me Mister." Cordelia stood before him, in one hand the book Angel was reading, and the other hand balled into a fist and resting on her hip.  
  
Angel stood up with lightning speed and was now looking down at her from his taller vantage point. The move had him just a hair's breathe away from Cordy, and he wasn't surprised that he could smell her aggravation and almost anger on Cordy's body rather than fear. She didn't fear him anymore, and something in him gloried in that feeling as well as made him angry that he didn't have control over her because of it.  
  
"And what are you going to do about it, Cordelia?" He folded his arms over his chest and tried to give his most intimidating look.  
  
"Well for starters, if you are going to not talk to me or worse, be rude, then you can just sleep on the couch tonight." Cordelia said firmly. Two can play his game.  
  
Angel growled at the bold statement.  
  
"Hmmm...or maybe I will just move back into my parent's house." Cordelia said, knowing that it was an empty threat.  
  
"Maybe you should just break-up using that little portable phone of yours, as I think I might have to lock you in our bedroom. Cordelia, you are not moving back to your parents and I am not sleeping on the couch." Angel said coolly. He was a man, a vampire, and this girl was not going to run his life. Angel was starting to feel the serious effects of not sleeping enough because he craved to know every inch of Cordelia's body, but the god damned curse kept him from that knowledge. He was so jealous of anytime that she spent away from him.  
  
"And you think that would hold me?" Cordy said sharply.  
  
"Well I would be busy holding you and keeping you in one place...so yes, I am pretty confident that you would stay where I put you." The thoughts of holding onto Cordelia and never letting her go ran through Angel's mind. It was what he desired and wanted more than anything. Angel grasped her shoulders firmly, pulling her a little closer to his body. He wanted to make a point about her being in his arms.  
  
Cordelia gulped, the thought of Angel holding her and things going beyond the heavy petting stage, made her dizzy. Plus with him so close to her, all she could feel was his strength and passion. Maybe it was safe to tell him that Willow changed the curse. "You know I would talk you into letting me out. You can't beat me in a verbal warfare." Cordelia stated, she hated loosing an argument but standing this close to Angel made it hard to think straight.  
  
Angel knew that ultimately he would give her whatever she wanted. "Well, I do know one way to shut you up Cordelia." Angel was tired or arguing, tired of being jealous, and he did the only thing he could think of, he claimed what was his, kissing her deeply.  
  
Cordelia's head was spinning, in a good kind of way, the way that Angel knew how. He had a way of kissing her to the point where coherent thought was missing. She dropped the book to the floor, forgetting she was holding it.  
  
Angel pulled away from the kiss, satisfied at Cordelia's reaction, "I am not sleeping on the couch." He stated then leaned back down and gave her a solid kiss, and pulled away. Cordy shook her head in agreement, after opening her eyes from that last intense kiss.  
  
"You are ending it with Xander tonight." Angel stated following the demand by another deep kiss, this time he moved his hand up from her shoulder's to cup her face. Again Cordy shook her head in agreement.  
  
"By phone Cordelia." Angel bent his head to kiss her again into agreement and Cordy pulled back, shaking her head no.  
  
"Angel, I owe it to him to do it in person." Cordelia said in a calming voice.  
  
Angel was trying to decide how hard to push her on this, and realized that it was her honorability that he loved about her, and that she was brave enough to face Harris in person. He nodded, agreeing to her condition.  
  
"Angel when I get home," Cordy started, and then leaned in and kissed his lips quickly, "I need to tell you something." She leaned up and kissed him again, reaching her hand up to grasp the short hairs at the nape of his neck. She pulled away and looked up at him.  
  
"Tell me now" Angel said, moving his head down to try and capture her lips again. With fighting with her for the past week, he had gotten in very few kisses and felt like a man in the desert dying of thirst for the taste of her mouth.  
  
"It's a surprise that I think you are going to be happy to hear." Cordy said, deciding that tonight was the night she wanted to tell him she loved him, that the curse was gone, and that he could have her body.  
  
"And what would that be, Cordy?" Angel asked, going back to the shortened version of her name, feeling his jealously subside, but passion rise. He wanted her so badly; he was dying not having Cordelia.  
  
"Now that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?" Cordy said a little coyly, feeling a bit like a tease. She leaned up and kissed him again, not able to help herself. She broke away from the kiss, knowing if they didn't stop she would never get out of there. The sooner she saw Xander, the sooner she could come back to Angel.  
  
"I guess so; sure you don't want to phone him?" Angel asked one more time, hopping to get lucky with her response.  
  
Cordy laughed bent down and picked up the book. The move gave Angel a nice view of her cleavage, and he smiled at the sight.  
  
Cordy pushed the book back to him, "Finish reading your novel Angel, tonight you won't have time for any reading, I can promise you that." Cordy said, slightly seductively, wanting him to anticipate what the night would bring.  
  
"I will hold you too that Miss Chase." Angel said, swearing that she was teasing him sexually.  
  
_...at the factory_  
  
Xander lay unconscious on the dirty bed in the basement of the factory. Willow sat to one side and watched Spike pace back and forth, muttering about his lost love Drusilla.  
  
"You know I am only a new witch, and really have never done anything this powerful before." Willow thought that maybe reasoning him would work, heck it was worth a shot.  
  
Spike smashed the whiskey bottle that he was holding and moved quickly in front of Willow starting to threaten her with the sharp glass. "Oh I have full confidence in you Red, cause if you fail the first time I will kill the boy."  
  
"Ohh" was all Willow could eek out.  
  
Spike moved and sat on the edge of the bed next to Willow, close to her, playing with the broken bottle in one hand. "How could she leave me? I mean, for a slimy demon, all because I helped the Slayer." He moved his free hand up to rub the back of his knuckle against Willow's collar bone. "You know it has been forever since I have had a woman." Spike leered at her, trying to decide if he wanted to kill her or turn the little witch in his drunken mind.  
  
Willow pulled away, "Look Spike, I will do your spell, but there will be no killing of Xander, and no having of me." She said forcefully, enough to make Spike realize she was serious.  
  
"Fine, so get brewing." Spike stood up, he didn't want the little human anyway.  
  
"I don't have all the right ingredients; we will need to get more from the magic shop." Willow said looking at the small pile of stuff she had brought with her from the chemistry lab.  
  
"Tell me what you need, and I will get it." Spike said, standing up and swaying a little. He was on his way to getting Dru back, he just knew it.  
  
"...okay a dove feather...." Willow started listing things off, wondering how she and Xander were going to get out of this one alive.  
  
_....Back at Sunnydale High  
_  
"Oz, I thought we were meeting them here in the Chemistry Lab?" Cordelia asked, looking around and noticing that the lab looked trashed and no sign of either Willow or Xander.  
  
"Me too, I smell blood, something has happened." Oz said, sniffing the air, his werewolf traits showing through even though he was in human form.  
  
"Ewww gross, you're as bad as Angel. We should get Buffy." Cordelia had a sense that things had gone terribly wrong.  
  
"Buffy's right here." Buffy said, as she came out from the gym and saw Cordelia and Oz standing at the entrance to the Chemistry Lab. "What happened?"  
  
"We were supposed to meet Willow and Xander here, and look at this place, it is trashed." Cordy informed the Slayer.  
  
"Someone or something got to them." Buffy presuming the obvious.  
  
"Well duh." Cordelia couldn't help herself with that comment.  
  
Buffy ignored Cordy's comment, her main concern was figuring out how to get to rescue her best friends. She instantly went into Slayer-in-Charge mode. "Oz, Cordy, why don't you head out to Whistler's Peak, Giles had a retreat he was going to, maybe we can catch him. I'll go get Angel and we will comb the city, his sense of smell might move things along faster."  
  
Oz nodded, "I'll drive." And he started to leave the room, Cordy on his heels. Buffy went in the other direction to get to Angel for his help. 


	9. The Rescue Gone Wrong

**Part 9 – The rescue gone wrong  
**  
_.... at the factory  
_  
Willow banged on the door to the basement bedroom and couldn't get it open, it was locked from the outside. She heard a moan coming from the bed and realized that Xander was coming too. Willow flew down the stairs and moved quickly to Xander's side.  
  
"Hey Will." Xander said weakly. There was a nasty gash on his forehead and dried blood along the side of his head from where Spike had smashed the microscope into it.  
  
"Hey Xander, how are you." Willow was touching him, making sure he was okay, relieved that he was finally awake after what seemed like hours.  
  
"Little nauseous, head spinning. Where are we? And was that Spike?" Xander said, trying to focus on his surroundings.  
  
"Yes, he has us locked in the basement of the factory. He is drunk and crazy, wanting me to do a love spell to bring back Drusilla." Willow tenderly moved away a lock of hair from Xander's eyes.  
  
Xander tried to sit up, and then fell back, his head was throbbing and that quick of movement was not a good idea. "Once I can sit up, we are getting out of here." Xander said a bit more confidently.  
  
"Nope, I tried, we are locked in tight, no way out." Willow said sadly.  
  
"So our options?" Xander inquired.  
  
"Well first if Spike comes back, I do the spell and it doesn't work he kills us. Second I do the spell and it does work then Spike and Drusilla kill us. Or thirdly Spike forgets he left us down here and we starve to death." Willow said.  
  
"I think I like option 3 best." Xander sighed.  
  
"Me too." Willow deadpanned.  
  
_...in Oz's van_  
  
"What if the mob got them and they are going to sell Xander's organs for money. I heard of that happening in East L.A. last summer." Cordy said, her mind racing as to what had happened to Willow and Xander. Even though she had decided to break up with Xander again, she still cared for him, and almost felt guilty about having not told him sooner about her and Angel. If he is dead, I am gonna feel guilty for life.  
  
_...later that night_  
  
Cordelia opened her eyes and saw dust around her. Her back hurt, and the pain in her stomach was worse than any PMS cramps she had ever had in her life. She tried to move and that sent a shock of pain through her that made her moan, as that was the only sound she could get out.  
  
"Cordy, oh my god, Cordy," Xander said from the opening in the staircase looking down into the rubble, seeing Cordelia with a long piece of rebar poking up through her mid-section, her body covered in a fine layer of cement dust.  
  
Willow said loudly behind Xander, "Oz went to get help Cordy, hang on."  
  
Cordelia opened her eyes slightly at the sound of Xander's voice and looked up briefly. _Cheating, Willow._ These were the two words that formed in her brain on the sight of Xander. "Xander?" was all she could manage to say before closing her eyes again the pain too much. Cordelia passed out.  
  
"Hook up the IV now, and radio the ER, she will need surgery immediately." The emergency medical technician said to her partner, as they worked on Cordelia. They had cut the rebar from underneath her, but didn't dare to pull it out, afraid of the damage that moving the metal would cause. They had managed to get her onto a stretcher board and were lifting Cordelia out of the crumbling factory stairs.  
  
Cordelia opened her eyes again, from the jostling she had been awaken briefly from her pain induced haze. She looked up and saw Angel standing there, watching her being moved toward the ambulance. She also saw Buffy, with an arm around Angel's waist, clinging too him, they were a couple. "No." Cordelia barely got out in a whisper. _First Xander cheats on me with Willow. Now Angel is back with Buffy_, were the two solid thoughts running through Cordelia's brain. She had lost both the boy and the man in her life, and her body was wracked with pain.  
  
Cordelia closed her eyes not wanting to see anymore, wanting more than anything for the pain in her heart and body to stop. She heard random words from unfamiliar voices. Felt her body being poked at and felt the blood pressure cuff squeezing on her arm. Then the movements of the ambulance, a racing surreal feel, moving while standing still. She was afraid and alone; Cordelia let the darkness consume her.  
  
_...The hospital waiting room_  
  
Angel paced. He didn't know how Cordelia had ended up at the factory, and more so he didn't know how she could have gotten to where she was now, on the operating table having a piece of metal pulled out of her body.  
  
Willow sat on one side of the waiting room on a couch and Buffy was sitting next to her, watching Angel pace. Oz was standing next to the window, looking out at the dark night sky. His mind working through what he and Cordelia had walked in on at the factory. The only reason he was still at the hospital was because Cordelia was in surgery.  
  
Xander had not returned from the ER yet, where they were looking at his head wound.  
  
"Should someone call Cordelia's parents?" Buffy finally asked, breaking the silence, turning and looking at Willow.  
  
"They are out of the country." Angel responded, automatically. The hospital was too noisy; he couldn't hear Cordelia's heartbeat over the rest of the noise that blasted in his head.  
  
Buffy looked up at Angel's response, surprised that he knew that sort of thing about Cordy. The whole night had been odd, first Willow and Xander going missing, then finding Spike pouring his heart out to her mother, and wanting to do a love spell to get Drusilla back.  
  
Now they were sitting in the hospital, waiting to find out the extent of Cordelia's injuries. Buffy was sure that Xander had a concussion by the look at the gash on his forehead, and figured he would be sporting quiet a few stitches by the time the night was done.  
  
Buffy looked over at Willow, who had said very little since she had arrived at the factory. Buffy had noticed there was a tense distance between Willow and Oz, and wondered what had transpired. Maybe when Xander gets out of the ER I will get a straight answer.  
  
"I'll call Cordelia's house and leave a message for her housekeeper to get a message to her parents." Willow said, standing up, needing to get away from the group, and not wanting to be there when Xander returned from the ER. The guilt was eating her up inside. _Cordelia was in surgery because of what Xander and I have been hiding. _Willow went to the back corner of the waiting room to make the call.  
  
Xander walked into the waiting room, his head bandaged, with a guilty sad look on his face. He surveyed the room, Buffy looked confused, Willow was in the corner on the payphone and Deadboy was pacing. He caught Oz's eye quickly and was frightened by the anger he saw in the werewolf's human eyes. "Any word yet?" He asked of Buffy.  
  
"No, they took her into surgery about an hour ago, and they didn't know how long it would take. It would depend on the damage caused by the rebar." Buffy said, walking over to Xander and putting a re-assuring hand on his arm. Xander looked exhausted and injured, he needed sleep.  
  
Angel turned on Xander, he needed to blame someone as to why Cordelia was in this hospital, and Xander was his prime target. "What were you doing playing at the Factory, I thought that you were going bowling, doing something safe?" Angel was standing close to Xander, almost growling out the question.  
  
Buffy looked up at Angel, and felt a chill run down her spine, the kind of chill she got around aggressive vampires, just before a big fight.  
  
"We weren't playing at the factory, your buddy Spike decided it might be fun to see how much magic Willow could cook up. We were hostages, not on holiday." Xander said back, feeling like he did not need to make any excuses to Deadboy.  
  
"Well it certainly looked like you and Willow were having a good time when Cordy and I got there." Oz said from his spot by the window. He had worked on controlling his anger enough to say something to Xander.  
  
"We weren't," Xander stuttered, "We thought we were going to die."  
  
"So making out with Willow was just because you thought it was the end of the world?" Oz had moved and was within arm length of Xander. He was clenching his fists, trying to control his anger.  
  
"You were what Xander?" Buffy looked to her friend, confused as to what was going on between him and Willow.  
  
"Sounds like cheating on Cordelia with the witch." Angel said, folding his arms akimbo moving away from the crowd starting to build around Xander. Angel was mad that Harris had hurt Cordelia; he was responsible for her injuries.  
  
"No it wasn't like that." Willow added coming up on the circle, defending Xander, but realizing that once the words were out of her mouth that she was just digging a bigger hole.  
  
"What was it like Willow?" Oz asked, glaring at Willow and Xander.  
  
"Oz," Willow started, but then didn't know what to say. She looked from Oz to Xander and then to Buffy. _Guilt was an awful feeling.  
_  
Silence was eating away at all of them.  
  
The silence was broken by the surgeon coming into the waiting room. The doctor looked at the teenagers and was a bit disappointed there wasn't an adult present, until he saw Angel standing off to the side of the group with a look of deep concern on his face. "Excuse me, who here is responsible for Cordelia Chase?" The doctor asked.  
  
Angel stepped forward, "I am Doctor."  
  
"And you are?" The Doctor asked hopping this young man was a brother or blood relative.  
  
"Cordelia is living with me while her parents are in Europe." Angel's tone let the doctor know that he was responsible for Cordelia, and he expected to hear answers very quickly. Angel ignored the shocked looks on the collective Scoobies' faces.  
  
"Cordelia is in recovery now; we had to remove her spleen, as the rebar had punctured it. Luckily there was no damage to any of her vital organs, her condition is serious." The surgeon said, glad to be delivering good news, but from the look on their faces they misunderstood him. "Cordelia is going to be fine, sore for a few weeks, but ultimately fine, even without her spleen."  
  
At those words the group let out a collective sigh of relief. Angel ignored the others and asked the surgeon, "When can I see her?" Angel wanted to be in her presence and hear her heartbeat for himself.  
  
"She is in ICU right now being monitored until she comes out from the anesthesia. After that we will move her into a room where she can have visitors." The surgeon looked down at his watch, "It will probably be just after dawn when we move her out of ICU. You all should go home and get some rest. I will not allow more than one visitor at a time for at least a few days, so there is really no point for you all to stay now." The group looked exhausted to the doctor, and he thought it was best for them to go home. _Wasn't tomorrow a school day_.  
  
"I want to see her." Angel said firmly to the doctor, he needed to see her, no matter what condition she was in. Angel felt he had to make sure she was still alive.  
  
"Son, that really isn't possible." The doctor said, looking at the distraught young man, he wasn't family, and the hospital had rules.  
  
"I am the closest thing she has to family, please let me see her." Angel pleaded.  
  
The surgeon took in the determined look of the young man, and decided that since there was no other family here, that maybe the boyfriend wasn't breaking too many rules. "Alright, just you son, the rest of you should really go home." The doctor said trying to convince them to leave. He turned to Angel, "Come with me." And the doctor and Angel left the waiting room.  
  
Xander looked dumbfounded at the exchange he had just heard and turned to Buffy, "Cordelia is living with Angel?"  
  
"I don't know Xander, but that was the strangest thing I have ever seen Angel do." Buffy said, perplexed by the exchange between Angel and the doctor.  
  
"Maybe they have become friends since Angel got back from Hell." Willow offered the first full sentence she had been able to get out in front of Oz all night.  
  
"Well, I would say she needs one right about now." Oz said through clenched teeth. He had had enough, now that he knew that Cordy was going to be okay, he decided he didn't want to be in the presence of Xander or Willow. He wasn't positive he could continue to hold his rage, and could feel his werewolf wanting to surface. Oz turned and left the waiting room, not waiting for a response from Willow or any of the others.  
  
Willow was on the verge of tears over what had happened that night. She looked at Buffy, "Can we go home?"  
  
"Yes, we can't do anything here, Xander you too, you look ready to collapse." Buffy said, wanting to be gone from the hospital, especially since there was nothing they could do for Cordelia at this point.  
  
Both Willow and Xander nodded and the three friends left the hospital waiting room, each contemplating what had happened that night, and how it would affect their collective relationships.  
  
_...ICU_  
  
Angel followed the surgeon down the halls of the hospital, relieved he was going to get to see Cordelia, and preparing himself for the worst. They arrived in the ICU area of the floor and the doctor pulled aside the head nurse. "Claire, this young man is here for Cordelia Chase, how is she doing?"  
  
"Her stats are strong Dr Morgan she should be coming out of it anytime now. It should be okay for him to sit with her for a few moments. Who is he?" Nurse Claire asked the doctor in a quiet tone.  
  
"Someone who loves her more than anything in the world." Angel said, having heard the quiet conversation between the nurse and doctor, concentrating on looking at Cordelia through glass window to her room.  
  
Claire smiled, seeing the concern and love on the young man's pale face. She moved past the doctor and put a hand on his arm, "And your name?"  
  
"Angel, can I sit by her, be close to her when she wakes up?" Angel asked, using every ounce of charm he had on the nurse.  
  
"I think that it would be good for her to wake up to a familiar face." Claire said, pulling his hand, feeling how cold it was, and shaking off the feeling that it was almost like holding a corpse's hand.  
  
Angel followed the nurse into the ICU room, and heard the sound of Cordelia's heartbeat, strong and steady, before he even heard the noises of the machines monitoring her condition. He saw the clear tube by her nose, bringing oxygen to her, and on the side of her cheek was a bandage over what he hoped wasn't a cut that would scar her beautiful face.  
  
"You can sit here Angel, and hold her hand, just be careful of the IV. When she opens her eyes, press this button so I can come in and check her." Claire pushed him to sit in the chair next to the bed and showed Angel the call button.  
  
Angel took Cordelia's hand gently in both of his large hands, absorbing her warmth. Angel focused on her face as he gently rubbed her hand and arm. Wanting to tell her without words that she was safe, wanting her to know that he was there to care for her, wanting her.  
  
Angel sat there watching Cordelia into the early hours of the morning. Angel ignored the comings and goings of the nurses who checked Cordy's vital signs every half hour. He quietly talked to her, about everything and nothing, gentle soothing tones.  
  
"Open your eyes Cordy, please." Angel begged as his body felt that dawn was near. He looked around briefly at the ICU and noted that there was no sign of a window that would let in the sun's rays that would set him on fire. He dropped his head and focused on her small hand resting in his much larger hands.  
  
Cordelia cracked her eyes open and the first sight was that of Angel, a concerned and brooding Angel. He was hazy, almost like a dream before her, and she wasn't sure if it was real. "Angel?" Cordy croaked out of a dry mouth.  
  
Angel picked up his head at the soft sound of her voice. "Hey Cordy." Angel said, and the corner of his lips turned up in a smile of relief at hearing the sound of her voice.  
  
"Where?" Cordy asked, not sure of anything, and not feeling any pain at all.  
  
"Hospital, you had an accident, but you are going to be fine." Angel said quietly and then reached over and pressed the call button for the nurse. He wanted the medical people to tell him that she was okay. He leaned in and moved away from her cheek a wayward strand of hair, the tips of his fingers grazing across her skin.  
  
Cordelia felt reassured at the cool touch of Angel's finger tips on her face. She felt so groggy it was so confusing.  
  
Claire walked into the room and saw that the girl was awake and was focusing totally on the young man holding her hand gently yet fiercely. She checked the read-out on the monitoring machines and leaned in "Hey sleepy head, you had this nice young man worried about you."  
  
"Sorry." Cordelia said quietly, looking up at the nurse, having a hard time focusing, fighting off the grogginess of the anesthesia.  
  
"Not your fault Cordy." Angel said gently. _No, Cordelia was not to blame for lying in this hospital bed, Harris was to blame.  
_  
Claire was touched by how much love Angel appeared to have for Cordelia, and had the fleeting thought that Cordelia was a very lucky young lady, and not just for having survived her accident. "Cordelia, what do you say we move you out of here and into a room with sunshine?" Claire asked positively.  
  
"No!" If Cordy could have shouted, she would have, sunshine meant Angel would leave her.  
  
"Huh?" Claire asked a little confused as to why the girl would want to stay cooped up in this windowless environment.  
  
"Eyes hurt." Cordy was amazed her addled brain was working. She squeezed down on Angel's hand.  
  
"Maybe we can move her to a western exposure room, by this afternoon she will be up for sunshine." Angel translated, not knowing if he would be able to leave her several hours from now just because of a little deadly sunshine.  
  
"We can do that, lets get you mobile." Claire said, wanting to please the two young lovers. She moved around and then pressed a button on the paging system for two orderlies to move Cordelia to a private, western exposure room.  
  
The hospital staff went through the normal activities of transferring a patient from one room to the other, and the two male orderlies ignored the glare from Angel who had been moved outside of the ICU unit while they prepared Cordelia to be moved. He watched and thought to himself that it would be much simpler if he just picked her up and carried her wherever they wanted to put her.  
  
Claire came up to his side as he stood at the window, "Angel she is going to be fine. Cordelia is lucky to have you."  
  
"No, I am the lucky one." Angel said, realizing that he almost lost the most important thing in his life is a span of a couple short hours. He had forgotten how fragile humans were, and vowed to take better care of his girl.  
  
Claire smiled; it was nice to see true love. 


	10. Alone

**Part 10 – Alone  
**  
_6 p.m. Sunnydale Memorial Hospital  
_  
The sound of the heart monitor beeped steadily in the darkened hospital room. Cordelia opened her eyes slowly and moved slightly in her bed, wincing at the feel of the stitches pulling in her mid-section. Across the room on a small table was a large arrangement of flowers and a window that looked out onto a nurse's station.  
  
Cordy reached up and touched her face, feeling the bandage on her cheek and the pull of the IV tube on her the back of her hand. _How the heck did I get here?_ She wondered. Her whole body hurt and she was trying to remember what had happened.  
  
An older nurse walked into the room and smiled when she saw Cordelia's eyes open. She walked over to the bed and examined the assorted monitoring machines, "Well nice to see you awake, Cordelia." She smiled and fidgeted with the machines.  
  
Cordelia opened her mouth to ask how long and no sound came out from her dry throat. "How?" is all she could manage to croak out.  
  
The nurse turned around to the tray table and filled a pink plastic cup full of water, slipped the straw in and turned back to Cordelia, lifting the straw to her lips. Cordy took a deep drink, only to find that the nurse hadn't put all that much water in.  
  
"How long??" _Two words, great, I spoke two words, what is wrong with me?  
_  
"Well you were brought in three nights ago, were in surgery for about 5 hours and then you have been sleeping on and off ever since. You took a nasty fall, but the doctor fully believes you are going to be fine." The nurse looked down at the young girl and had been briefed on why she was in the hospital, but didn't know much else as she had just gotten back from vacation.  
  
"Oh." Cordy didn't feel like talking, her body was sore and she was surprised to wake up to an empty room, where were her parents, her friends.  
  
"Let see who sent you the lovely flowers. I just got back from vacation and this is my first night on duty, oh and I am Gretchen." Gretchen the nurse said as she moved away from the bed to examine the card on Cordelia's flowers.  
  
She read the card, and then read it one more time, not believing what it said.  
  
"Who are they from?" Cordy asked. _Four words, I got out four words and my throat didn't crack.  
_  
"Your parents, they wish you to get well soon." Gretchen lied; the card really read _'Sorry about your accident dear, your father and I are having a wonderful time in Monte Carlo. – Mother'_  
  
"Oh." Cordy wasn't surprised that her parents were not present; they never seemed to be around as of late.  
  
"Let me pour you some more water, but only a half cup to start out with, would you like me to turn on the TV?" Gretchen started to feel sorry for the lonely girl, what a shame such a pretty girl was all by herself in the hospital.  
  
"Thank you." Cordy said, not caring whether or not the TV was on, but grateful for more water.  
  
Gretchen moved the bed tray table so it was closer to Cordy and poured more water into the pink plastic cup. She took the remote and turned on the television to Entertainment Tonight, nothing to serious. "Okay, I need to check on a few other patients, if you need anything just ring kiddo."  
  
Cordelia stared blankly at the television screen, watching Mary Hart interview a random celebrity, not really paying attention. Clarity of what had happened the night she fell was starting to come back to her and two distinct images stuck in her head – Xander kissing Willow and Buffy wrapped around Angel. Tears started slowly flowing down her bandaged cheek. I am all alone.  
  
_...10 pm outside at the nurse's station  
_  
Gretchen walked over to the nurse's station and picked up her coffee cup, taking a drink of the bitter hospital brew. She clicked things off regarding her patients on the computer and then looked up to see Claire, a nurse from the Surgery group walk up to the station. "Hey Claire how are you?" Gretchen said casually.  
  
"Good, just wanted to check on a patient of mine from surgery a few nights ago, Cordelia Chase." Claire said, coming around the corner and punching up information on the computer.  
  
"She was just waking up when I came on duty. She seems pretty sad and based on the note on the basket of flowers from her parents I can see why." Gretchen said taking a sip of her coffee.  
  
"Did her parents come in today?" Claire asked, surprised that they had not been in on each of the previous two days that she had come up to check on the girl.  
  
"No, you will not believe this but they sent her flowers saying that they were having a great time in Monte Carlo. Their daughter is in the hospital and they couldn't cut their vacation short. I hate it when I see young people so alone like t his girl" Gretchen shared with the other nurse, disgusted that parents could be that cold, especially when their child was in the hospital.  
  
"Oh she isn't alone, wasn't Angel in there?" Claire asked looking a little surprised. Cordelia's boyfriend had been at the hospital practically 24x7 watching over the girl as she slept through her recovery of the past three days. She had woken up briefly after surgery, but then the doctors had decided to slip her into an induced coma so that she could heal properly.  
  
"Angel, who is Angel?" Gretchen asked, thinking that this girl probably needed a guardian Angel with her uncaring parents.  
  
"That is right; I forgot you have been on vacation. Angel is a tall, dark, moody, totally hot guy who has spent the past three days sitting at Cordelia's bedside waiting for her to wake up. When I had stopped by last night he looked so pale, I thought for sure he was dead." Claire said; wishing she had a man that devoted to her.  
  
"No one was in the room when I came on duty." Gretchen asked, touched by the brief story.  
  
"Jill must have been successful in convincing him to go home, shower and shave and get some sleep. I think he will be relieved when he hears Cordelia is awake." Claire said.  
  
From the corner of the floor, by the stairway entrance, the door opened and a disheveled Angel walked onto the floor. His face was scruffy, having not shaved since Cordelia was brought into the hospital, and he wore a concerned expression on his face.  
  
_...earlier that evening_  
  
Angel was focused on Cordelia's sleeping form and was holding her hand, as he had done for the past two and a half days. The doctor had told him he was going to medicate her to get her to sleep for couple of days so her body could heal. Angel had listened and not liked the idea, but decided to trust the human doctor.  
  
"Angel we stopped the sleep medication on Cordelia only an hour ago. She most likely will sleep through the night and not wake up until tomorrow. You need to go home and get a decent night's sleep." Jill the day shift nurse said.  
  
"But what if she wakes up and is all alone; I don't want her to be alone." Angel said turning to the woman who had been taking care of his Cordy.  
  
"She won't be alone there is a whole hospital full of staff here." Jill said.  
  
"But you are strangers to her, I have to stay." Angel said. The nurse was right; he was tired, and hungry, having not feed in almost three days. He was having a hard time thinking about anything other than wanting Cordelia to be awake, to come back to him.  
  
"And if she wakes up and sees you looking like the mess you are right now, do you think she will be happy with you?" Jill asked. Over the past few days Angel had told her stories of Cordelia, and she had been touched by how much he cared for her, but also got the impression that they were both a little vain. _Maybe convincing him to look good for Cordelia would get him to go home and get a decent night's sleep._

Angel thought on that comment for a moment. He looked down at his wrinkled shirt and realized that Jill was right, he was a mess. The sun was just about to set, his body could feel it. Maybe he would go home for an hour, feed and shower and then get back to the hospital.  
  
"Are you sure she won't wake up in an hour?" Angel asked, listening carefully to the nurse's heartbeat to make sure she wasn't lying to him.  
  
"Positive. My guess is that the drugs will work their way out of her system later tonight and she will sleep through then wake up in the morning." Jill said, thinking for a moment that sometimes people's bodies processed the chemical's differently, but on average it took eight hours once they turned off the medication for them to wake up fully.  
  
"I'll be back later tonight, just in case." Angel decided he did not want to take the chance of Cordy waking up alone. He stood up and bent down and pressed a kiss on Cordy's forehead, "I need you, wake up soon." He whispered to Cordelia. He moved away from the bed and grabbed his leather coat off of the chair in the back of the room. He turned to Jill. "Thank you for taking care of my girl. I will be back later."  
  
"No problem Angel." Jill watched the young man leave and was touched by the scene she had just witnessed.  
  
_...at the mansion_  
  
Buffy was pacing back and forth across the living room, waiting for Angel. It was just after sunset and was no where to be found in the mansion. She jumped at the sound of the front door opening. In walked the vampire, who looked tired and worn.  
  
"Angel, where have you been, the sun just set a half hour ago?" Buffy asked walking over to him as he entered the living room. She reached her arms out to pull him into a greeting hug, and he side stepped her attempt to touch him.  
  
"Buffy what are you doing here?" Angel asked, not answering her question.  
  
"I wanted to see you." Buffy said, not wanting to tell him quiet yet that she missed him, and wanted to get back together with him, even if he had been living with Cordelia. _Angel was her vampire.  
_  
"Oh, well here I am, now if you'll excuse me I have things to do." Angel dismissed her, and was annoyed when she didn't take the hint to leave. He decided he would leave then and started up the stairs to his bedroom. The bedroom he shared with Cordelia.  
  
"Angel wait, I need your help." Buffy practically shouted, wanting to keep Angel from walking away from her.  
  
Angel stopped on the second step and turned and looked at Buffy. "What?"  
  
"I came to get your help in cleaning out a vamp nest down on 5th street. There are quite a few and I don't think I can take them all myself." Buffy lied, not about the vampire nest but about being able to take care of it herself.  
  
"Buffy, I really want to shower and feed and then get back to the Hospital. Did you forget that Cordelia is in a coma?" Angel decided that being blunt with the Slayer was the best tactic.  
  
"No, I didn't forget about Cordelia. But there is nothing we can do to help her, let the doctors and nurses take care of her, or better yet her parents." Buffy said, huffy that Angel appeared to be choosing the cheerleader over her needs.  
  
"Cordelia's parents are out of town." Angel said deciding not to get into an argument with the blonde about what Cordelia did or did not need at the moment.  
  
"Oh. Well Angel I really do need your help, it won't take long, not more than a half hour, hour tops if we go together." Buffy said.  
  
"Fine, I'll drive." Angel said, knowing he was never going to be able to get rid of the Slayer unless he did what she wanted.  
  
The half hour assignment ended up taking closer to two hours as there were quiet a few vampires and the nest was not on 5th street, but actually four blocks away on Silver Lane. When the last vamp was dusted, Buffy turned to Angel and moved to hug him.  
  
"Buffy, I need to go." Angel said he practically had to pry Buffy away from his body.  
  
"Angel, why are you so distant with me as of late?" Buffy asked, thinking that now that he was back to full strength they could go back to being a couple.  
  
"Look Buffy I need to get back to the Hospital." Angel said bluntly.  
  
Buffy thought for a moment and remembered Spike's words from the other night –  
  
_'You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till  
it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each  
other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends.'_  
  
"Are you telling me that Spike was right, we can't be friends?" Buffy asked.  
  
"What? No." Angel responded puzzled by what she was talking about, but not really caring at the moment. "Look, I have to go, we will talk later. Do you want a ride home?"  
  
"No, I will walk." Buffy said, needing to think, Spikes words playing over in her head that she and Angel could not be friends.  
  
Angel took that as his cue to leave, he knew deep down that he had hurt Buffy by being so short with her, but that was just not his priority at the moment, and that discussion with Buffy would need to take place eventually, just not tonight.  
  
Angel looked at his watch, 9 p.m., he needed to feed now more than ever and a shower wouldn't hurt either.  
  
_...Back to real time – Hospital 10 pm ish_  
  
...."Jill must have been successful in convincing him to go home, shower and shave and get some sleep. I think he will be relieved when he hears Cordelia is awake." Claire said.  
  
From the corner of the floor, by the stairway entrance, the door opened and a disheveled Angel walked onto the floor. He wore a concerned expression on his face.  
  
Angel started moving quickly across the floor to get back to his spot at Cordy's side. Angel neglected to shave, wanting to get back as quickly as possible. _Have to be here when she opens her eyes. _ The medical people had told him they were inducing a coma so that she would heal faster, but it worried him. He wanted her eyes to be open, hear her voice teasing him about something dorkish he had done recently. He wanted Cordy back among the living, and by his side.  
  
"Excuse me Sir, visiting hours ended an hour ago." Gretchen said as she saw the man walking toward a patient's room.  
  
Angel turned and held back a growl at being told he couldn't be with Cordelia. He then noticed that besides the older nurse, the younger woman, Claire, the first nurse to take care of his Cordelia was there. He didn't say anything, but just looked intently at Claire.  
  
"Well it is good to see you in different clothes I think, and the scruffy look works for you." Claire said teasing the handsome man who had on a black on black ensemble that just made him look more mysterious and handsome.  
  
"Yeah a shower helped, can I go sit with her please." Angel turned on the charm; it had worked so far with the younger nurse these past few days. He suspected that his charm would not work so well with the older woman who had tried to stop him.  
  
"Of course Angel and she is awake." Claire said with a big smile. She blinked, because the man moved so quickly to Cordelia's room she thought he had disappeared.  
  
Angel rushed into Cordy's room and looked down at his sleeping beauty. What was different this time was that the TV was on low and one of her hands was gripping the remote. Her face looked tear stained. She woke up frightened and I wasn't here. Angel sat on the edge of the bed and took the remote out of her hand, and then grasped onto her hand. "Cordy?" Angel whispered loudly, wanting her to open her eyes.  
  
Cordelia opened her eyes and blinked away the sleep that had started to creep back to her. She saw a scruffy looking Angel. She had never seen him scruffy before. And he was smiling, he never smiled.  
  
Angel looked down at the hazel eyes that were finally open. It had been the longest three days of his life. "Hey." All he wanted to do was crawl into bed with her and wrap his arms around her and squeeze.  
  
"Hi, where's" Cordy started, and then her voice cracked, "Water." She asked.  
  
Angel turned around quickly and let go of her hand. He saw the water pitcher and the plastic glass and filled it up. He brought the glass and straw to her lips and let her drink her fill.  
  
Cordy sighed, finally feeling as though her thirst was quenched. She blinked and looked up, surprised that Angel was there. _Shouldn't he be out with Buffy?_ She averted her eyes from his; she wanted to hide the sadness that had developed in her eyes.  
  
"Nice to see you awake, and I am a bit surprised you are at a loss for words." Angel teased her, noticing that she wasn't looking at him.  
  
"Why are you here?" Cordelia was amazed she got the full sentence out.  
  
"Well you did take care of me when I was at my worse; I figure I owed you the same." Angel said gently. Cordy seemed different, something was seriously bothering her and he wanted to know what it was so he could fix it. He wanted a happy Cordelia.  
  
"Oh." She turned her head, not wanting to be pitied. In shifting her body farther away from where Angel's hip rested on the side of the bed she moaned in pain. Her body was protesting at the movement after being in the same general position for so long.  
  
"Cordy are you okay, should I get the nurse?" Angel asked at the sound of her painful moan. He noticed that she was trying to create distance between the two of them when all he wanted to do was grab her up and hold her forever.  
  
"I'm fine. Why aren't you out with Buffy?" Cordelia decided that she was through beating around the bush with Angel.  
  
"Why would I be out with Buffy?" Angel was confused, what did Buffy have to do with anything. _Was she upset that he wasn't there when she woke up, all because of Buffy?  
_  
"Well she is your girlfriend." Cordelia said a little fiercely even in her weakened condition. She pulled her hand out of his and tried to turn her body away from him. This time she yelped in pain.  
  
"Cordy stop, you are going to pull your stitches." Angel grimaced at her painful expression.  
  
"So, who cares?" Cordy was sinking down into a level of self pity she rarely ever got too. The emotions from what she had witnessed before and after being impaled were flooding back to her. Tears were welling up in her eyes.  
  
"We all do, everyone cares about how you are doing. I am so sorry I wasn't here when you woke up earlier." Angel said, he reached down and gently touched her unbandaged cheek, rubbing away the salty tear that had rolled down her cheek.  
  
Cordy didn't say anything, she wanted nothing more than to turn her head away and cry, but Angel's fingers were stroking her cheek, providing a level of comfort she couldn't even fathom.  
  
"I care about you Cordelia, and it kills me you were alone." Angel stated plainly and truthfully. He was worried about how emotional she was upon waking up. _What had she witnessed before the fall that is now bothering so badly?  
_  
_Yes you care about me, but you love Buffy._ Cordelia thought, not wanting to fall deeper for the vampire than she already was, especially since he did not deny being Buffy's boyfriend.  
  
"Angel, I'm tired now, I think I want to sleep." Cordelia decided that she didn't want to talk, didn't want to hear the words come out of Angel's mouth that he and Buffy were together.  
  
"Then close your eyes, I will be here when you wake up." Angel had moved his hand to stroke her hair. He had a funny feeling that she wanted him to leave. _Not going anywhere princess_.  
  
Cordelia didn't turn her head away, she was too tired to fight with him, to ask him what she needed to hear, but not wanting the answer. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the heart monitor beeping letting it lull her back to sleep. She ignored how comfortable she felt having the vampire touching her, consoling her. _Tomorrow I am going ignore those feelings_, she tried to convince herself.  
  
Angel looked down at his sad girl. He didn't know what to say to make things better, and decided that silence was best. Plus he was really good at the quiet thing. He could feel how upset she was, and even though her eyes were closed he could sense the tears in her eyes. He decided that the best thing she needed now was not to be left alone, but to stick to her like glue.  
  
He was counting her heartbeats in time to the noise of the machine. Claire walked into the room and saw the sadness on Angel's face.  
  
"What is wrong Angel?" Claire asked, happy that Cordelia was again resting, but a bit concerned as to the look on Angel's face.  
  
"I think she is mad at me because I wasn't here when she woke up. I don't know?" Angel said, maybe the woman would know the answers.  
  
"Angel she has been through a traumatic experience and her body is trying to heal. She will be back to normal soon." Claire reassured him. It wasn't so unusual for someone who had been in an accident to try and push away those that care about them.  
  
"I just want to hold her and make her pain go away Claire." Angel said honestly.  
  
"Don't let her push you away Angel. She will need her friends to heal faster." Claire said and walk over to the window blinds and closed them, blocking out the street light and making the room a bit darker. She turned and looked at the couple, they looked good together.  
  
"Thanks Claire. I am going to stay tonight, even though she isn't in a coma." Angel said quietly. He didn't want her to wake up scared and frightened or worse alone. He remembered how she held him through his insanity when he arrived back from Hell. He owed her the same.  
  
"I expected as much. Let me get you a pillow, and if you want to hold her, I think that would be fine. Hugs are good medicine." Claire moved to a closet on the other side of the room and pulled out a pillow and an extra blanket. She moved to the edge of the hospital bed and put the extra pillow up by Cordy's head.  
  
Angel took off his coat and quickly moved so his back rested against the back of the small bed. He kicked off his shoes and then gently lifted Cordelia so she was resting against his chest.  
  
Cordelia had woken up to the sound of Angel and the nurse talking, but decided to keep her eyes closed and listened to the exchange. She let Angel lift her body to rest against his cool body. Even though part of her brain said to pull away, she ignored it and decided to take what she could get. _Maybe she could settle for being Angel's friend, and live with Buffy being his lover.  
  
TBC _


	11. Stupidity

**Part 11 – Stupidity**  
  
Cordelia stared into the fireplace and watched the flames create shadows and play with the light in the room. The fire took the chill off of the mansion and it the soft glow from the fireplace was relaxing. She sighed, this argument had been going on for about 15 minutes.  
  
"But Cordelia, I don't think it is a good idea for you to be alone. What if you pull one of your stitches?" Angel asked, pacing back and forth across the living room.  
  
"Then I will take my cell phone and dial 911, Angel." Cordelia said calmly to the vampire.  
  
"Maybe you could use your phone and call your friend Harmony to come over and sit with you." Angel suggested, and then almost immediately amended, "No, she is not responsible enough, too ditzy. Willow, I trust Willow, lets call her to come over. Or better yet, maybe Giles or Buffy's mom." An adult present would be the best Angel reasoned in his mind.  
  
"No way is Buffy's Mom coming over to baby sit me. I tell you, I am absolutely fine, and can be left alone for a couple of hours while you kill bad guys." Cordelia said firmly, but when she sat up on the couch she groaned a little, her body still sore and recovering.  
  
"That is it, I am not going anywhere, let me help you." Angel said, moving to her side instantly upon hearing her small moue of pain. He fussed with the lap blanket she had over her legs pushed a pillow behind her back. He hated hearing her in pain.  
  
Cordelia pushed him away. "Angel stop it, stop babying me. I am fine, yes a little sore, and yes I will make small noises noting that. But you are making me insane. If you don't go out on patrol with Buffy, I am going to go back to my house." Cordelia threatened. Cordelia hated using that threat in particular because she hated the thought of going back to her house and be all alone, but something had to be done. She could tell that Angel was going stir crazy because he had been cooped up for so long. _He needs to go out and kill something_, Cordelia thought, understanding that his demon side was as much a part of what he was as the human side.  
  
"That is a low blow Ms. Chase." Angel said, calculating in his mind that she would not want to go to an empty house, especially in December, now that the holiday season was almost upon them.  
  
"Angel you need to go kill something. Go. Patrol. Now." Cordelia said firmly.  
  
Angel moved from hovering over Cordelia as she lay on the couch to kneeling down on one knee so he was almost face to face with her. Angel took one of her hands in his hands and clasped it gently. He looked at her, "Cordy, I need you to be better, I don't need to kill anything." Angel was totally serious.  
  
Cordy gave him a smile, not a 1000 watt smile, but a small one, that let him know she appreciated his attention. "Angel, go be a champion for me, I am going to catch up on my English homework, and when you get home you can fill me in on the chapters I decide to skip."  
  
"Are you sure?" Angel asked, one more time in a quieter voice, using his charm to get her to say no, so he could stay with her.  
  
"Yes, absolutely. Throw a couple of logs on the fire and then go find Buffy." Cordelia internally cringed at sending him to his lover's arms.  
  
"Your wish is my command sweetheart." Angel instead of standing up he leaned in and kissed her on her forehead, using his lips to sense a change in her body temperature, making sure she hadn't developed a fever. He also listened to the steady beat of her heart, and felt better. After the gentle kiss he stood and then put more logs on the fire.  
  
Angel returned to her side, satisfied that the fire was roaring at a sufficient level then leaned back down and kissed her softly on the lips, a gentle miss you type of kiss, "I will be back in a couple of hours."  
  
"And I will be here reading when you get back, or napping if this story doesn't get any better." Cordelia smiled, she loved the cool feel of Angel's lips on hers.  
  
Angel put on his leather duster and headed for the door, looking back and one more time assuring himself that Cordy was okay. He gave a little wave as he walked out the door.  
  
He gently closed the door behind him and breathed in the cool December California night air. He didn't need the oxygen but liked the smell of winter air. Now to find Buffy and get this patrolling thing over and get back home. Home to Cordelia.  
  
Cordelia watched him close the door and looked down at her book she was reading for English class – Wuthering Heights. She just couldn't get into it, it was so sad, and she had enough of sad romances. _Her life was a sad romance. She was pretty sure she was in love with Angel, and appreciated how he was taking such good care of her, she knew his heart belonged to little Miss-Blonde-from-a-Box.  
_  
_...later that evening at the Cemetery  
_  
"Well that was easy." Buffy said sarcastically, wiping the dust from the sleeves of her brown leather coat.  
  
"Yep, love it when we get demons and vampires, makes for a good work out." Angel said, stretching out his back. _Cordelia was right; it was good to kill something_.  
  
"So, want to go over to the Bronze, maybe get a coffee?" Buffy asked, moving closer to Angel, into his personal bubble.  
  
"No I really should get back." Angel stepped slightly away from Buffy, increasing the distance between the two of them.  
  
"Why what do you have to do?" Buffy asked slightly confused as to why Angel wanted to go home to an empty house.  
  
"Cordy has only been home from the hospital for a week. I don't like the idea of her being all by herself." Angel said flatly.  
  
"Cordelia is staying with you?" Buffy looked at Angel, and had noticed that he was physically putting distance between the two of them.  
  
"Yes, she took care of me when I got back from Hell, this is the least I could do for her." Angel had a feeling this was the night that he and Buffy had the "talk"  
  
"Doesn't Cordelia have a family or servants who can take care of her?" Buffy said coldly.  
  
"No, she doesn't, her parents are traveling, and you know that. Even if she did it wouldn't matter." Angel said, not quite sure how to put into words with the Slayer how he really felt about Cordelia.  
  
"What do you mean it wouldn't matter?" Buffy asked, having a feeling that this conversation was not going to be pleasant.  
  
"I care about Cordelia, and I am not going to let her be alone anymore." Angel said, putting his hands into his jacket pockets.  
  
"Are you saying you and Cordelia?" Buffy couldn't get out the words that hung in the air that Angel and Cordelia were together.  
  
"No, we aren't, we haven't. But I..." Angel stuttered, he wanted this conversation to be over. "I care for Cordy a great deal."  
  
"Are you in love with her?" Buffy asked, practically biting out the words.  
  
Angel didn't say anything; he just looked at her, the look in his eyes telling Buffy everything she didn't want to know.  
  
"But what about us, you said you loved me?" Tears flowing down Buffy's cheeks, she wanted answers, she wanted Angel to tell her that she was wrong.  
  
"Buffy, I know this is going to be hard for you to hear, but, us, there is no more us." Angel said quietly. "Look, I do love you, will always love you on some level, but we can't be together."  
  
"Well I doubt Cordelia will give you perfect happiness." Buffy huffed.  
  
Angel held back a growl; he knew Buffy would be angry and that her first inclinations would be to attack Cordelia. "I don't know about that Buffy." He said truthfully, what he felt for Cordelia was running much deeper than what he had felt for Buffy. With Buffy it was kind of like puppy love. _With Cordelia he felt it with his soul_.  
  
"But she is so, so, Cor-del-ia." Buffy said, making Cordy's name into an all descriptive adjective. She was at a loss, crying quietly, realizing that she was loosing Angel. "Angel I don't want to loose you." She finally said, stopping the sobs.  
  
"You lost me when you sent me to Hell Buffy." Angel said, finally saying what had bugged him for months that she had never even apologized for sending him to hell.  
  
"But I had to save the world." Buffy said, the words sounding lame as the exited her mouth.  
  
"I know. Buffy it's over." Angel said, with finality in his voice.  
  
Buffy did the one thing she had always been good at, she ran. She couldn't continue this conversation with Angel and couldn't face him anymore. She wanted to cry, wanted to die, wanted to know why Angel would choose Cordelia. She ran fast, fast as her slayer body would take her away from Angel.  
  
Angel watched her go, as he followed her moving form moving across the cemetery, he realized how young Buffy really was, and how different she was from Cordelia. _Break-ups are never pleasant, but at least she didn't stake him.  
_  
_...at the mansion_  
  
Cordelia closed the book and looked into the fire, she couldn't read anymore. It was too sad a story and she was so emotional since getting out of the hospital. She was crying and she wasn't sure if it was the story or if it was her state of life. She held the book to her chest and sobbed. _I am in love with Angel and he loves Buffy.  
_  
The front door burst open and Angel flew into the Mansion, his broad sword drawn, ready to do battle. He had heard Cordelia's sobs as he approached the house and thought for sure something was attaching her. He looked as saw that the house was quiet, and Cordelia had looked up from the fire place and was looking at him with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Angel what are you doing." Cordy asked, trying to casually wipe the tears away from her eyes, shocked at the dramatic entrance made by the vampire.  
  
Angel moved quickly to her side and grabbed her in a hug, lifting her off the couch. He felt over her body, making sure there were no new injuries. His hand passed over the bandage covering her stitches from the surgery. Cordy whimpered at the touch. "That is it, I am taking you back to the hospital, your still hurt." Angel said, bending down and picking her up, carefully swinging her legs over his arms and cradling her back.  
  
"Angel stop, put me down." Cordelia said firmly, pushing away from him as he held her close to his body.  
  
"No, they need to make you not be in pain anymore, I can't see you in pain anymore." Angel said, not knowing himself how to make the pain go away.  
  
"Angel put me down right this instant." Cordelia said more forcefully, realizing that he was not being rational.  
  
"Your crying." Angel stated, not setting her down but keeping him close to his chest where he could feel her heartbeat.  
  
"Was crying, it was stupid, noting, I am fine." Cordelia said softly, looking up at the concern in Angel's eyes.  
  
"You didn't tare your stitches?" Angel asked, trying to determine if he could smell fresh blood, but was lost in the scent that was totally Cordelia's.  
  
"No, now put me down and you can check my bandages if you like." Cordy said, in a calm voice, hoping this time the dork would listen to her.  
  
Angel thought for a moment and realized that was a good idea, he would check her bandages, and then he would know for sure. He set her gently back down on the couch and lifted up her t-shirt. Being this close to her and smelling her was making his demon come to attention. He wanted to mark her and make her his property. Angel pulled back the bandages slightly and saw the ugly red scar and that the stitches were oozing slightly, but not too bad. The doctor had told him that was a possibility, and to just keep changing the bandages and she would heal in time. "Not bleeding, but these need changing. I will be right back." Angel stood and went into the kitchen to get the special hospital supplies they had been sent home with.  
  
Cordy looked down at herself and saw the ugly scar, sad that it would always be with her, remind her of how Xander had betrayed her with Willow, how that Angel and Buffy were meant to be together. She softly started crying again, not able to help herself, hating the fact that she had tears left to shed.  
  
Angel walked back in with a bowl of warm water and bandages. He sat the bowl down on the coffee table and then sat on the edge of the couch next to Cordelia. He looked at her and saw she was crying again. "Shhh," He tried to sooth her. Angel took a clean cloth and began cleaning the wound gently.  
  
"It is so big and ugly," Cordelia gulped between tears, "and I am stuck with it, a permanent reminder of my stupidity." She watched Angel care for her, how gentle his touch was, as he finished cleaning the wound and then putting a new bandage on.  
  
"This little mark, you won't even notice it in a few weeks." Angel said, hating the fact that her skin had been marred. "I am going to look like a freak next time I wear a bikini." Cordy said, noticing that Angel's cool hand was still resting on her stomach.  
  
"Not as long as you wear as swimsuit and not those little pieces of fabric you usually call a swimsuit." Angel said, deciding that maybe this little scar would keep her covered up. He didn't like the though of other men looking at his Cordy.  
  
"Pfft." Cordy replied. The banter made her forget her tears, the real reason why she was crying.  
  
"And your not stupid, well maybe a little for dating Harris." Angel teased.  
  
"Well your choice of girlfriends is not much better, Mr. Dating-the-girl- who-sent-me-to-Hell." Cordelia said it, not having planned to comment on his dating Buffy again.  
  
"Huh?" Angel asked confused, what was she talking about.  
  
"Well you know you, Buffy, star crossed lovers, remember?" Cordelia said, she decided that sarcasm was the only way to avoid a tear fest.  
  
"Cordy, why do you think I am dating Buffy again?" Angel asked, regretting having gone out on patrol tonight.  
  
"I saw you two the night I fell. It was obvious, and I know your heart belongs to her." Cordy said, looking away from Angel, back to the fire in the fire place that was now starting to die out. Maybe it was time she went back to her empty parents house, especially after this conversation.  
  
"You saw us, when?" Angel was confused; the only thing he had done with Buffy the night that Cordy fell was fight a gang of vampires. There had been no getting back together.  
  
"I'm not sure, sometime that night. Willow and Xander and you and Buffy, cozy as a double date." Cordelia was trying to picture the scene she had remembered so clearly before that was now becoming a hazy unclear memory.  
  
"Cordelia, there is no me and Buffy." Angel said.  
  
"Pfft." Cordy continued to avoid Angel's eyes. Angel noticed her aversion to his eyes and moved a hand up to cup her face, so that she was forced to look at his face.  
  
"Did you hear me, there is no me and Buffy." Angel said, pouring so much emotion into those words. "I care about you Cordy."  
  
"I know we are friends Angel, but you belong with Buffy." Cordelia said, looking at his face, something registered there that she couldn't quite place. She was willing to let him go for his true love.  
  
Angel looked into her eyes and saw the confusion in them, as well as a spark of something he had seen building for quiet a while.  
  
"I take it back, you are stupid Cordelia Chase." Angel said firmly, still holding her chin gently in his fingers. "What" Cordy gasped.  
  
"Yes you are stupid, stupid because you think I would go back to Buffy." Angel said.  
  
"I am not stupid, you dork!" Cordy practically shouted, not believing that he was calling her stupid.  
  
"I am calling you stupid because you can't see what is right in front of you." Angel said, looking into her eyes, into her soul.  
  
"You're the only thing I can see in front of me now, dorkus." Cordelia huffed. What had gotten into him, what was this conversation about, Cordelia wondered.  
  
"Exactly. Don't you get it? Probably not, you probably need me to show you." With that Angel bend down and captured her lips in a kiss that wasn't a friend's peck on the lips. Or a kiss hello or goodbye; or a thank you kiss for the nice presents. It was a full on, I need you, want you, have to have you type of kiss. If she wasn't laying down on the couch, Angel was sure he would have gotten her to lift her foot off the ground with the type of kiss he bestowed on her. He pulled away and looked into her confused hazel eyes.  
  
"Huh?" Was all Cordelia could manage to get out, her head spinning from the impact of the passionate kiss she had received.  
  
"Don't be a dork Cordelia." Angel smiled down.  
  
"Why did you?" Cordelia asked, still in shock.  
  
"Easy, because I love you." Angel smiled again and then bent his head down and captured Cordelia's mouth in another brain numbing kiss. He pulled up satisfied that he had rocked her world, as he heard her heartbeat speed up.  
  
"You love me?" Cordelia was shocked she was able to get out another three word sentence.  
  
"Yep Stupid, I love you." Angel said, it was easier to say I love you to her the more often he said it.  
  
"Don't call me stupid, dorkus." Cordelia said and then pulled his head back down to kiss her again.  
  
_GRRR ARGH_


End file.
